


Hanakotoba

by Library_of_Gage



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Percy Jackson Fusion, Fluff, Getting Together, Inko is a goddess, Izuku is a demigod, M/M, a small amount of angst, written for the tddk big bang 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:28:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 42,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24638347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Library_of_Gage/pseuds/Library_of_Gage
Summary: Quirks are one thing. Everyone knows about those, and they're common enough that it's easy to hide if you're something else, which Izuku is. A demigod, to be precise, which creates a whole mess of problems. Especially when it comes to love.
Relationships: Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto, Todoroki Shouto & Yaoyorozu Momo
Comments: 93
Kudos: 358
Collections: TodoDeku Big Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Quick content warning for this chapter: Hisashi's death in the first chapter is implied in semi-graphic terms, which is why I have that archive warning on this fic. If you'd like to avoid that description, please skip the paragraph right before the first line break. 
> 
> For the purposes of the AU, Inko is the daughter of Hades and Persephone, and her powers will be explained in later chapters.
> 
> Meanings of the flowers in this chapter will be listed in the endnotes
> 
> Thanks so much for reading!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick content warning for this chapter: Hisashi's death is implied in semi-graphic terms, which is why I have that archive warning on this fic. If you'd like to avoid that description, please skip the paragraph right before the first line break.
> 
> For the purposes of the AU, Inko is the daughter of Hades and Persephone, and her powers will be explained in later chapters.
> 
> Meanings of the flowers in this chapter will be listed in the endnotes
> 
> Thanks so much for reading!

Izuku watches with wide eyes as his best friend makes sparks dance across his palms, little bursts of light popping in and out of existence. “Whoa, that’s so cool, Kacchan! They’re getting stronger!” he says, leaning closer to get a better look. There are other kids around them, jostling to see as well. This always happens when they come to the park, though, so Izuku is used to it. Katsuki's quirk is really impressive and flashy, the perfect quirk for someone who wants to be a hero.

“I know it is. Much better than some shitty plant quirk,” Katsuki replies, grinning proudly as he pulls his hands away from Izuku’s face. “But I guess yours isn’t  _ too  _ bad, Hana.”

His words make Izuku get a wide smile, a  single sunflower blooming in his hair with how happy he feels. Katsuki might be a bit rough around the edges, but that just means it takes a little digging to understand what he really means. “Thanks!”

Katsuki smirks a bit and looks around at the other kids. “All right, nerds, get lost,” he tells them, grabbing Izuku’s hand and pulling him over to where their parents are sitting on a bench. His dad and Katsuki’s mom are talking, an amused smile on his dad's face as Katsuki's mom laughs at something he said. “Oi, mom! We want ice cream,” Katsuki says. 

“Both of you?” she asks, looking over at Izuku with a quirked eyebrow. "He's not bullying you into ice cream, right Izu?"

His dad bursts into laughter at that. "I don't think that's possible, Mitsuki. When have you ever heard of a kid getting bullied into ice cream?" he asks. He pulls out his wallet and holds a bill out to her. "I'll cover this time if you get me cookie dough."

Mitsuki pretends to think before getting a devilish grin and snatching the bill. "Joke's on you, old man, I was gonna buy you cookie dough anyway," she says as she stands up. "I'll be back in a few."

"Don't forget Hana's stupid strawberry and vanilla!" Katsuki shouts after her. She doesn't bother turning around as she waves him off. Katsuki clicks his tongue and looks at Izuku. "If she forgets one, I'll go buy you the other."

Izuku blinks and smiles brightly at him. "That's okay, Kacchan. Auntie's usually pretty good at remembering both," he points out. 

His dad laughs and ruffles Katsuki's hair. "What money would you use to buy the other anyway?" he asks, pulling his hand away before Katsuki can hit it like he always does. 

The familiarity makes Izuku's heart ache in a way he doesn't understand. Despite his  smile and the sunflower  still in his hair, his eyes are stinging like he's crying. Izuku reaches up and touches his cheek, pulling his hand away but not seeing any tears on his fingers. He looks up to see both his dad and Katsuki giving him weird looks. "What?" he asks. 

"You're the one being fucking weird, Hana," Katsuki points out.

"One, language, Katsuki. Two, he's not wrong. Is something the matter, Izuku?" his dad asks, sliding off the bench and crouching in front of him. The gentle smile and crinkle in the corners of his eyes just make the aching in Izuku's heart even worse. 

He wants to run. Izuku doesn't know why, but he really wants to take his dad and Katsuki and run away from the park as fast as he can. "I'm fine. But let's go catch up to Auntie. And go home. Can we go home, please?" he asks, grabbing his dad's hand and tugging on it insistently. Instead of moving, his dad just looks confused. Izuku feels his heart speed up, his body tensing like something really bad is about to happen.  _ "Please, dad, let's go,"  _ he begs. 

Whatever his dad is about to say is cut off by the shrill screams of children on the other side of the playground. Izuku's heart drops to his stomach and somehow he already knows how this is going to go. His dad straightens up, moving in front of Izuku and Katsuki to protect them. That doesn't stop either boy from peeking around his legs to see what's causing all the commotion. 

There's a man on the other side of the park, his hair slightly shaggy in the way it frames his face. He's dressed sharply and has a sadistic grin, watching the chaos caused by the spikes shooting from the scorpion tail that curls up and over his head. They’ve embedded in the concrete, playground equipment, even a few trees. It seems like a miracle that none of the menacing, silver projectiles have hit any of the other children or the parents protecting them. 

"What kind of quirk is that?" Katsuki asks, eyes wide as he stares at the man carefully scanning the playground. 

Adrenaline surges through Izuku's body as the man's gaze stops on them, his nose flaring as if smelling the air. That grin gets wider. "It's not," he manages to say, his voice cracking. Because that's not a quirk. And that's not a man. Even though Izuku doesn't quite have the right word to name the monster whose tail is twitching with anticipation, he knows deep down that he's not human. 

His father tenses as the monster takes a step forward. "Is this where you've been hiding, grandson of Hades?" he calls, quirking an eyebrow at the two children peeking out at him. "Hmm, two possibilities, but which one is that delicious smell?"

As he walks towards them, Izuku's hand tightens on his father's pants. "We need to run. Now," he says, trying to tug on his pant leg. 

"Katsuki, take Izuku and find your mother. Run as fast as you can," his father says.

"What?! No fucking way are we leaving you!" Katsuki protests, looking ready for a fight he can't possibly win as sparks dance across his palm. He tries to step forward but is stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

Katsuki looks up with a scowl. "I need you to protect Izuku. Can you do that?" Izuku's dad asks. Precious seconds they don't have are spent in a staring contest before Katsuki finally nods. Izuku's dad smiles gratefully and then looks over to Izuku, placing a hand on his head. "I love you. Tell your mother I love her, too."

The tears Izuku felt before are finally falling and the now wilted sunflower finally breaks from his hair, being replaced by  purple cyclamen . He shouldn’t know what that flower means. It’s never bloomed in his hair before. "Why can't you tell her?" he asks hoarsely. 

His father just smiles reassuringly and kisses Izuku's forehead before straightening up. The monster has been watching them with an amused smile, his lips curling as he says, "How sweet. Too bad your efforts are all for naught."  


"Katsuki, take Izuku and run, now!" 

Before he even gets the chance to protest, Katsuki is grabbing his hand just a little too tightly and dragging him in the direction his mom had gone to get ice cream. "Let go, Kacchan! Please!" Izuku cries, pulling against his friend so he can go back for his dad. They can't leave him. If they leave him, Izuku knows he'll never see him again. 

"Shut the fuck up, Hana! Uncle told me to protect you and that's what I'm doing," Katsuki says, pulling even harder. 

Tears are streaming down Izuku's cheeks and another cyclamen blooms in his hair, the first time he's ever had more than one flower at a time. "Kacchan,  _ please _ ," Izuku begs, looking back over his shoulder to where his father is shooting a stream of fire at the monster from his mouth. 

For however hard he pulls, Katsuki's grip on his hand just gets that tighter. Izuku isn't even sure of what he's saying anymore. He just wants to get his dad away from the monster. He wants to protect him so they can both go home together. The thought of his mom crying when he comes home alone makes his heart break. Izuku can clearly see the way her face will get red, how the tears will build and build until they finally fall, how the world around her will droop in the wake of her grief.

The thought of his mother reminds him of the godliness flowing through his veins. What's the point of having some of his mother's power if he can't even use it to save his father? Izuku frantically calls on the roots in the ground, begging them to wrap around the monster so he can't move. They burst through the ground after some convincing, thin and weak but fueled by his desperation as they latch onto the monster, wrapping his tail and attempting to hold it back. 

Izuku's dad falters, turning his head to look at his son still being dragged away by his best friend. His father gets a bright, proud smile and Izuku returns it, breathless and wondering about why that sense of dread is still there, still settled deep in his chest. It's planted roots, curled them around his heart, and forced him to acknowledge it with resignation even though he doesn't know why. 

He understands seconds later. 

Izuku can only see it in pictures, still frames of the worst moment of his young life, and echoing sounds that bounce around his head. The cracking of the roots breaking as the monster shoves them off. The infuriated roar as the monster's tail whips back over his head. A second, just a brief second, where Izuku can see the trajectory of the spike. A scream ripping through his throat too late. The widening of his father's eyes and the way he falls to his knees. The way Katsuki shouts his name and yanks his hand roughly enough to finally make him move again. The light of life draining from his father's eyes as the monster stands above him with a crazed grin. His tail rising once more, quivering as he meets Izuku's gaze an-

* * *

Izuku jerks awake, his heart beating wildly in the too-small space of wherever he is. His hair is bursting with cyclamens as the roar of plane engines replaces the roar of the monster. The hand gripping his own is no longer Katsuki's, but his mother's. Slowly, his heart rate returns to normal as his mother talks him through deep breaths. The hand she places on his cheek makes him feel better almost immediately and Izuku smiles at her gratefully.

"You were crying, honey," she says gently, her thumb brushing away tears. Inko is quiet a moment, her eyes softening even more. "Was it the manticore?" she whispers. 

He isn't at all surprised she got it in one guess. Despite how excited Izuku is to be moving back to Japan, his nightmares lately have been getting worse. It seems like every time he closes his eyes, he's reliving that day in the park. It's taxing, and he'd be exhausted from lack of sleep if his mother didn't use her powers to renew him when he wakes up. "Yeah. I'm sure they'll stop soon enough," he finally says, wiping away the last of the tears from his cheeks.

His mother looks unsure, reaching up and gently running her fingers through his hair. She comes away with a few of the  cyclamens , cupping them in her hands. "We don't have to live in Japan. You know the campers would be happy for us to go back," she says, gently placing the flowers in her lap before reaching out to get the rest. 

Izuku shakes his head, grabbing his mother's hand and holding it in his own. "I need to do this. There's a lot for us in Japan. Besides, it's been seven years. That's more than enough time for it to be safe," he replies, squeezing her hand tightly. "We'll be fine." 

"Sorry to interrupt, but would either of you like something to drink or eat?" a flight attendant asks, stopping next to their row of seats with a notepad and pencil in hand. 

He looks tired like he's been working for two days straight with ten minutes of sleep to keep him going. Izuku watches his mother smile, seeming to glow as her rejuvenating aura becomes stronger. "We would love some tea if you have any," she says. The attendant blinks, staring at her for a long moment as he straightens up, the exhaustion gone from his eyes and replaced with the energy of having taken a much-needed vacation. 

He nods and writes it down. "Of course, ma'am! I'll have that for you right away," he says, smiling brightly at Inko. They both watch as he turns and heads straight for the attendants' station where the drinks are kept.

"Oh, I hope the other passengers don't mind," Inko says worriedly, looking over her shoulder to see if anyone on the plane appears upset. 

Izuku can't help a soft laugh. "I'm sure they don't, Mom. It's not like you do this on purpose," he points out. 

The attendant comes back then, holding a tray with two cups of tea and plastic packages on it. He places the cups on the trays in front of Izuku and Inko before setting the packages down as well. "I don't mean to be nosy, but you looked a little upset. We had some extra brownies from the last flight and I find that chocolate always helps. If you two need anything else, anything at all, my name is Spencer," he says.

"Thank you so much, Spencer. You're really too kind," Inko replies, smiling warmly at him. Spencer flushes slightly, his smile widening a bit before he moves on to take the orders of the other passengers. Inko picks up one of the brownies and opens the packaging before handing it to Izuku. "How nice of him."

Izuku hums softly in agreement as he takes a bite. He blinks at the surprisingly high quality of the chocolate and looks at the plastic, pausing at the Ghirardelli logo. "Yeah. Really nice," he mutters, wondering if these are actually the brownies reserved for first-class passengers. He glances over at his mother, taking in the happy face she has as she eats the brownie, and thinks it's a good thing she's not the kind of person to take advantage of the way people become infatuated with her. 

Once her tea is gone, Inko begins to doze off, her head falling onto Izuku's shoulder. He glances down at her and settles in, deciding to let her nap while she can. To keep himself entertained, he pulls out his phone so he can read. Right before they'd boarded, Izuku downloaded several books about quirk history, hero culture, and Greek mythology. There's no harm in knowing as many myth variations as possible. 

His phone's lock screen makes him pause, though. The photo is of him and his mom, surrounded by the other campers at Half-Blood under the arch of the entrance. There are sunflowers in Izuku's hair and a few of the campers have a sunflower tucked behind their ear. They've all got huge smiles, even though the photo was taken when he and his mom said goodbye. Standing on his other side and flashing the camera a cheeky grin is Percy, Camp Half-Blood regular and America's number one hero through no fault of his own. 

Izuku had asked how he'd become the number one hero of such a big country once. Percy had just gotten this tired look and said that he'd love to know the answer to that question, too. At the time, Izuku hadn't really understood why it was such a bad thing, but after getting to know Percy, he learned the guy just really wanted a damn break. Most demigods don't live to adulthood like he did. The kind of fighting that takes means a break is long overdue. 

Part of Izuku wonders if Percy just wanted them to stay so his mom could keep refreshing him every time he visited Camp Half-Blood. 

* * *

_ "Are you sure you have to go? Gods know we'll miss you," Percy says, dropping the bags he's carrying on the ground next to Izuku. They join the three other bags already there. _

_ Izuku grins a bit. "Are you sure it's not just my mom you'll miss?" he asks. _

_ "Well, there's no denying she's a better caretaker than Dionysus." _

_ "I heard that Peter Johnson!" Dionysus shouts from the main house.  _

_ "Good!" _

_ Izuku can't help laughing, a few sunflowers budding in his hair. He shakes his head and counts the bags, happy to see they're all there. Once his mother is done talking to Dionysus, they'll be good to go. "We'll be back for the summer," he says.  _

_ Percy shrugs and looks back over to Dionysus and Inko. "I'm gonna go make sure he's not trying to trick her into staying," he says, nodding to Izuku before heading over.  _

_ A group of three campers Izuku's age run up to him as Percy walks away, all sporting excited looks. "We got you a going-away present!" the girl in the middle, Johanna, tells him.  _

_ "You did?" Izuku asks, blinking in surprise. Antoni to Johanna's left and Pri to Johanna's right nod. "You really didn't have to." _

_ Pri waves him off. "We wanted to. Ya know how Ed and Ray went into New York last weekend for that HeroCon?" _

_ "All of the campers that could pitched in so they could get you some souvenirs!" Antoni blurts out. _

_ Johanna shoves a bag into Izuku's hands, all three getting an expectant look as he stares at it. "You…. I don't know what to say," Izuku replies, tearing up as he looks at the three.  _

_ "Aww, c'mon, Izu, just look inside," Pri urges, waving for him to get on with it already.  _

_ He smiles excitedly and nods, looking into the bag. The first thing on top looks like a jacket. Izuku pulls it out, blinking at the black, pink, and white design of it. His eyes widen when he recognizes it and looks at the three. "Is this an Uravity jacket? I thought she didn't have any official merch like this," he says.  _

_ "She doesn't! It's a fan design that Ray found," Antoni explains.  _

_ Izuku sets the bag down and pulls the jacket on, lighting up at how well it fits and how warm it is. "Guys, this is amazing!" _

_ "But wait! There's more!" Johanna tells him. _

_ He can't imagine anything better than this but looks back into the bag, pulling out four charms. One is small enough to be looped through his phone case and dangle off the end; the rest can be clipped to his backpack. The phone charm is a yin/yang design but with flames and ice instead of black and white. The other three charms are a lilypad with "Froppy" on it in bubble letters, a knight helmet based on the Ingenium costume, and a grenade with an explosion around it.  _

_ The grenade makes him pause, memories of Katsuki surfacing. Izuku smiles softly and looks up at the group, tears in his eyes once more as the sunflowers in his hair bloom fully. "These are all great, really. I love them," he says, throwing himself at the group and pulling them all into a hug. _

_ "Now you just gotta hope you don't end up in the same class as them," Pri jokes, hugging Izuku back. _

_ He laughs and pulls away. "Even with Percy's recommendation, I doubt I'd get into 2-A. Besides, they have to know they've got fanmade merch, right? It's not that weird," he says, shrugging a little.  _

_ "Whatever you say, Izu. Just know that we're buying anything related to you once you make your debut," Antoni says. _

_ Inko finally makes it over to them before Izuku can respond. She blinks at the jacket and charms before smiling at the three. "You're so sweet. How about we all get a picture together before Izu and I have to leave?" she suggests.  _

_ It takes twenty minutes before everyone who wants to be in the picture gets into place. They managed to convince Dionysus to take the picture while some campers pulled sunflowers from Izuku's hair, tucking them behind their ears. Percy gets pulled into it at the last moment at Inko's insistence.  _

_ Izuku doesn't get a chance to look at the photo until they're in the rental car, driving towards the airport. Seeing all the friends he's made over his seven years in America gives him a smile. He doesn't know how easy it will be to make friends in Japan, but at least he knows there's a whole camp of them here.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flower Meanings:  
> Cyclamen- regret, having to say goodbye  
> Sunflower- happiness
> 
> Thanks again for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone so much for reading! All the positive feedback has been great!
> 
> If you'd like to check out some of the other works made for the Big Bang, they can be found on the [Tumblr](https://tododekubigbang.tumblr.com/)

The U.A. dorms are nothing like the Camp Half-Blood cabins. They’re entirely modern, with multiple floors, a small gym in each building, and a fully-functioning kitchen. Izuku's room is on the second floor of his class's dorm, between Shinsou and Aoyama, if the rooms' nameplates are accurate, with a boy named Tokoyami at the end of the hall. 

He sighs as he sets down the last bag in the room, his mother already starting to unpack his clothes. "It's lucky they let us in while classes were in session," Izuku says as he goes over to the box on his desk and opens it, pulling out several books to go on his bookshelf. He glances over at Inko, watching her fuss over a shirt's non-existent wrinkles. "Mom, do you want to take a break?"

She starts slightly and looks over at him. "What? No, of course not. I'm just a bit nervous, I suppose. I have the interview after this," she explains, wringing her hands nervously. 

"And you'll be fine. Nezu would be stupid not to hire you," Izuku replies, smiling reassuringly at her. He sets his books down and pulls his mother into a hug. She returns it, hugging him tightly. 

After a few seconds, Inko pulls away and takes a deep breath. "Thank you, Izu," she says, smiling warmly at him. 

Izuku nods as she turns back to his clothes. It's obvious she's still a little on edge, so he decides to distract her for just a bit. "Hey, Mom, how did you and Dad meet?"

Inko pauses, getting a fond smile at the question. She picks up a sweater and folds it as she says, "Well, I was just coming off my shift at the hospital and decided to get coffee from this nice little cafe nearby." She sits on the bed, sighing wistfully. "Your father was halfway up a tree on the sidewalk, trying to reach this cat that looked scared out of its mind. He was smiling and the moment I saw him, it was like the world itself bloomed. All I could think about was the distance between us and how the sun shone on him through the leaves of the tree. In that moment, there was no question or worry about my feelings, just the knowledge that anything could happen. I could walk up to him and help or I could move on and let him slip through my fingers."

"And you walked up to him, right?" Izuku asks, sitting down next to her on the bed. He's heard this story maybe a thousand times, but it still makes him smile to hear the love in his mom's voice so many years later. 

"I did. Hisashi took one look at me and fell out of the tree, bringing that poor cat down with him. It got spooked and scratched him before running off. So I offered to bandage the scratches and he bought me a coffee as thanks. The rest is history," she says, looking over to Izuku. She studies him, eyes flitting over the features that remind her of Hisashi.

After a few moments where they both enjoy the silence of the room, she checks her watch and hums softly. "You know, you have some time before you need to go to class. Why don't you walk around a bit to get your bearings, and I'll finish up here."

"Are you sure?" Izuku asks, glancing around at the multiple bags and boxes of things they'd bought in preparation for him moving into the dorm. Not to mention the multiple potted plants that still need to be grown and set up around the room, and possibly around the common areas of the dorm building itself if none of his classmates object. It's a lot to do, even for a goddess. 

Inko cups his face, nodding once. "I'm sure. This will help me expel some of that nervous energy," she says. 

He's not entirely convinced, but the prospect of getting to explore the campus is too much to resist. "Okay. You'll text if you need me, right?" he asks. When Inko nods again, he gets a bright smile and hugs her once more. "I'll be back in a bit."

"Have fun, sweetie," Inko says, waving him off as he leaves the room.

Izuku takes the stairs down, too excited to stand still in the elevator. He wants to get a better look at the small courtyard between this dorm building and the one for 2-B. There was a sakura tree with a few benches around it and a ring of bushes. It's nice, but could definitely use some sprucing up. 

He rushes outside, smile widening as he gets to the tree and feels the life flowing through it. Izuku places a hand on the trunk, watching the sakura flowers bloom out of season. Sakura bloom in his hair to match and Izuku looks at the bushes, brushing his fingers along them to make the hydrangeas bloom as well. 

A strong breeze blows petals and a few whole flowers from the tree and bushes, making them swirl around the small area. Izuku blinks and laughs, helping the plants to replace the lost flowers as pink and purple dance in the air.

* * *

Shouto berates himself as he walks towards the dorms, seeing clearly in his mind the English notebook he left on his desk this morning. He’s usually more put together than this, but a weekend back home with his father tends to leave him scattered. Just as he gets close to the 2-A dorm, a gust of wind blows his hair into his face and Shouto frowns. As he's pulling it back into a messy bun, he looks in the direction the wind came from and blinks. 

In the courtyard between the 2-A and 2-B dorms, standing beneath the sakura tree, is a boy with wild green hair, flowers blooming among the curls, freckles splattered across his cheeks, and bright green eyes that seem to dance with the same happiness clear in his smile. Petals blow around him because of the breeze and he laughs, the sound dancing along with the wind and swirling with the flowers. The most eye-catching thing, though, is the way he seems to glow, a gentle green light surrounding him and making everything about him seem almost heavenly.

Despite being incredibly aware of the beating of his heart and the space between him and this boy, Shouto thinks this might be the calmest he's ever felt. It feels like everything about the world is just better, like the first true morning of spring when he steps outside and sees flowers blooming in bright bursts of color. There's an overwhelming sense of confidence in knowing that he wants to talk to this boy, to be the reason he smiles like that.

Shouto realizes there's nothing stopping him. It is entirely within his ability to walk over to the courtyard and introduce himself. Just as he's taking a step forward, his phone pings several times in a row. As much as he doesn't want to look away, Shouto forces himself to do so as he tugs his phone out and checks the messages. They're all from Momo, telling him that class is about to start and he'd better hurry up if he doesn't want to be late. 

He curses under his breath, texting back a quick reply before looking up again only to find the courtyard empty. If it weren't for the tree and bushes still in bloom, Shouto would think he'd imagined the glowing boy. As much as he wants to stick around in case the boy comes back, he doesn't want to deal with the repercussions of being late, so he abandons getting his English notebook and rushes back to the classroom. 

Shouto makes it with a minute to spare, sighing as he slides into his seat. "Where's your notebook?" Momo asks, looking from his clearly empty hands up to his face.

"I got distracted by an angel," Shouto replies. He pulls his hair out of the bun to make it neater as Momo stares at him. When he looks over, he realizes her silence is due to confusion. "What?" 

"An angel?" she asks softly, starting to get an amused smile. 

Shouto doesn't know what's so amusing about this. "Yes. He glowed and had flowers in his hair and a smile that lit up his eyes," he explains, getting a soft smile of his own as he thinks of the boy. 

"I never thought you'd be the kind for love at first sight," Momo tells him.

The door of the classroom opening cuts off any response Shouto might have. He just frowns slightly, mulling over Momo's words as Aizawa walks to the podium and clears his throat. "We've got a new student coming in about fifteen minutes. Until then, we'll be continuing with the lesson normally."

* * *

A door has never looked as intimidating as the one in front of Izuku right now. As it turns out, getting recommended by America's number one hero is a good reason to be put into class 2-A. It feels unfair that he knows a lot about the kids in this class and they know absolutely nothing about him. Though, if Izuku is being honest with himself, a huge part of this nervousness is seeing Katsuki again. He's excited, yeah, but he has no clue how his childhood friend will react. 

Izuku turns away from the door, taking a deep breath. Several forsythia flowers bloom in his hair, their soft yellow standing out against his hair’s dark green. He looks back, biting his lip nervously before glancing down at the charms dangling from his bag. Putting them away would feel weird, so he just hopes nobody notices them. He looks at the door once more and, deciding he can't put this off any longer, knocks twice before gently sliding it open. 

The lecture cuts off as Aizawa looks to the doorway, eyes scanning Izuku up and down once. He wonders if Aizawa is trying to figure out what makes him worthy of such a prestigious recommendation. Percy really left him with a lot to live up to. "Um, sorry to interrupt. Is it okay to come in?" he asks.

"Just get in already and introduce yourself," Aizawa replies.

Izuku nods and slips in, shutting the door behind him. A few anemones join the forsythias in his hair as his nerves jump at feeling so many people staring at him. He keeps his gaze down until he gets to the podium, stopping just next to it. Just as he's looked up to introduce himself, a chair to his left scrapes as the student at the desk jumps up.

_"Hana?!"_

The nickname takes him off guard and he wonders why he hadn't been expecting it. Izuku looks over to see that Katsuki really hasn't changed in the seven years he's been gone. His hair is still wild, his eyes still red, and his demeanor still rough around the edges. His quirk has definitely gotten stronger, though. 

"Kacchan! It's been a while!" he says, his bright smile genuine despite the way his stomach clenches at the scowl. 

Katsuki shoves around the desk and marches up to him. "Yeah, no fucking shit it's been a while! Where the hell do you get off showing up outta nowhere after just disappearing?" he demands. 

Izuku relaxes a little, his smile softening as he ignores the sparks in Katsuki's palms and just hugs him tightly. "Mom couldn't stay after what happened. I promise to explain more later at the dorm," he says. 

He pulls away to see that Katsuki has calmed down a bit, his scowl becoming a frown instead. "Tch, fine, but I'm fucking holding you to that," he says, poking Izuku's chest before stomping back to his desk and plopping down. 

A few anemones drop from his hair, being replaced by sunflowers as he looks back at the class. Quite a few of them are staring at him with wide eyes, glancing between him and Katsuki. "I'm so sorry for intruding. My name is Izuku Midoriya. Please call me Izuku if you're comfortable with that. I'm really looking forward to learning how to be a hero with all of you," he says.

He glances over to Aizawa, who's studying the class. The teacher hasn't told him which desk to sit at, so Izuku just looks around the room for open ones himself. There's only one, at the back of the room, next to a somewhat bored looking boy with red and white hair pulled back out of his face, the strands crossing over each other. 

Heterochromatic eyes meet his own green ones and Izuku blinks, feeling like the world has shifted a little. He’s seen Shouto twice before when he watched the first and second-year sports festivals. Both times he was amazed by just how strong Shouto is compared to the others that competed. But seeing someone in person is so different from seeing them on TV. A camera can’t capture the silky look of Shouto’s hair, can’t truly capture the way his blue eye stands out against his scar. That amazement he felt seeing Shouto on TV is just amplified and Izuku feels like he has to go talk to him, like there’s something here he just isn’t seeing but that he needs to hold on to. 

"The seat by Todoroki is open, so go take it."

Izuku blinks and looks at Aizawa, processing for a moment before nodding. "Right, of course," he says, smiling apologetically before making his way to the back of the room. He makes eye contact with Shouto as he sits, the other boy glancing at his hair before quickly looking back towards the board without so much as a nod.

He frowns slightly, berating himself for feeling disappointed at the lack of acknowledgment. It's ridiculous to get upset over something like that when they haven't even said a word to each other. Izuku pulls out a notebook and pen as Aizawa starts to speak again, just picking up right where he left off when Izuku came in. 

It's warmer in the room than Izuku thought and he pushes some of his hair out of his face, his fingers catching on a flower. He gently plucks it out, eyes widening at seeing a purple gloxinia with white outlining the petals. Izuku has never had this flower before, but he knows what it means. 

Love at first sight.

Is this what that feeling was? Did he really just fall in love with someone he’s only ever seen on TV? Izuku wants to laugh at how ridiculous that sounds. He hasn’t even spoken two words to Shouto. Of course, he can’t be in love with him. The flowers have to be wrong. 

But they’ve never been wrong before. 

"Oh, gods," he whispers, setting the flower down on his desk and running his hand through his hair again. He pulls out five more from the right side and seven from the left, staring at the pile of them on his desk. There shouldn't be any more in his hair, but at this point, he wouldn't be surprised if some bloomed just to spite him.

He pushes the flowers into a corner of his desk to take care of later before looking back up to the board. It doesn't seem like anyone has noticed his mini-crisis, relief flooding through him as he starts to jot down everything Aizawa is saying. At the top of the page, he makes a note to ask some of the other students for their notes so he can use the weekend to catch up on the course material.

The hair on the back of his neck stands on end, making Izuku tense from the sensation of being watched. He looks to the side, locking eyes with Shouto once more. This time, instead of looking away, Shouto holds his gaze. His expression doesn't change and Izuku feels frozen. What in the world is he supposed to do? After a few seconds, he flashes a shy smile at Shouto and looks back at his notes. 

It feels like the room just gets warmer and Izuku huffs, wondering if the class' air conditioner is broken.

* * *

The class is dismissed for the day after their English lesson with Present Mic, something Izuku is relieved to have found easy. At least there's one class he won't have to struggle to catch up in. He shoves his stuff back into his bag and considers the gloxinias still in the corner of his desk. The thought of throwing them away makes his heart clench, so he carefully gathers them and tucks them into a pocket in his bag. Hopefully, they won't get crushed before he can plant or press them. 

As he stands, a girl with short brown hair and round cheeks bounces up to his desk, smiling brightly at him. "Hi! Izuku, right? My name's Uraraka Ochako," she says. "Do you want to walk back to the dorms together?"

"Oh, sure, that'd be great," Izuku says, unable to help smiling brightly back as he follows her over to another of their classmates. He recognizes him as Iida Tenya and decides that he's probably the best person to borrow notes from. "Hey, Tenya, right? Or would you prefer to be called Iida until we know each other better?"

An arm is slung around his shoulders and Katsuki cuts off whatever response Iida was about to give. "It doesn't matter right now since you're walking back with me, Hana," he says.

Izuku pauses and looks up at his childhood friend. "We can all walk back together? In one big group? You're all friends, right, Kacchan?" he asks. He looks over to Uraraka and Iida. "Please tell me he has at least one friend in this class."

“Don’t hold your breath,” a purple-haired boy says as he walks past them to the door. He glances back with a shit-eating grin and Izuku’s mind supplies the name Hitoshi Shinsou.

“Of course I fucking have friends. It’s just none of these nerds,” Katsuki says, flipping Shinsou off as he walks out of the room. Then he points over to a group of students laughing with each other. “I’m friends with those nerds.”

He recognizes Kaminari, Kirishima, Sero, and Ashido in the group and hums softly. “Well, they can walk with us, too, right?” he asks, looking up at Katsuki with a hopeful smile. “That way I can get to know more people all at once.”

Katsuki frowns and lets out a heavy, put-upon sigh before walking over to his friends. “Wow, that’s kind of impressive. He barely fought with you,” Uraraka says, watching him go with wide eyes. She looks back at Izuku with a smile. “So how do you know Bakugou?”

“Oh, I knew him when we were kids. We used to live next to each other and we were best friends before I moved to America,” Izuku explains. “It’s actually really nice to see Kacchan after all these years. I never really got to give him a proper goodbye before we left.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, why did you move to America? Did one of your parents get transferred out there for work?” Iida asks. 

Izuku’s smile falls slightly and he shakes his head. “No, um, my father was killed by a….villain when I was eight. We moved to America a week or so after that because my mother thought it was too dangerous to keep living here,” he explains. 

The two are silent and Izuku laughs nervously, rubbing the back of his head as little white flowers with yellow centers bloom in his hair. Luckily, he’s saved from having to salvage the awkward moment by Katsuki coming back with his friends. 

“Oi, Hana, do I need to introduce you to anyone?” Katsuki asks, quirking an eyebrow at him. 

Izuku shakes his head. “Nope, I’ve seen both sports festivals, so I actually already know everyone’s names. That sounds a little creepy, though, since I kind of know more about you than you know about me. So I’ll answer any questions you have on the way to the dorms,” he says, forcing himself to stop talking before he rambles. 

“Is that why you’ve got those little charms on your bag?” Ashido asks with a grin, pointing to them. Her grin only gets wider when the others in the group notice them, making Izuku blush slightly as a few more Christmas roses bloom in his hair. 

He hesitates before unclipping them and holding the charms up. “They were gifts from my friends back in America,” he explains, letting the others look at the charms as they start towards the dorms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flower Guide:  
> Anemone- Anticipation  
> Christmas roses- Anxiousness  
> Forsythia- Longing to get something over with  
> Gloxinia- Love at first sight  
> Hydrangea- Desire to understand someone  
> Sakura- Affection, good luck  
> Sunflower- Happiness


	3. Chapter 3

The room is utterly silent as Inko watches Nezu look over her resume, a slight smile on his face that she can’t quite decipher. Despite being a goddess, a supernatural being far more powerful than the principal in front of her, Inko is still a little nervous. Perhaps it’s the consequence of spending so much time around teenage demigods constantly fretting over whether or not their training is enough to keep them alive.

“Do you have any questions for me, Principal Nezu?” she finally asks, deciding to break the silence herself.

Nezu hums and sets the paper down, looking up at her with a polite smile. “Several, actually. Some aren’t entirely related to your application, though,” he explains. 

“Well, I’ll answer as well as I can either way,” Inko replies, feeling her guard go up just a little. She has to force herself to relax, to remind herself that she can’t exactly be killed in any permanent way. 

Perhaps putting her slightly on edge is the point, as Nezu seems satisfied with her response. He leans back in his chair, his paws pressing together. “I read about the attack that killed your husband. Why leave America if nothing as traumatic happened there?” he asks. 

Inko hums quietly, trying to figure out if this could be relevant to her position or if it’s a question Nezu is personally curious over. “My son, Izuku, wanted to move back so he could attend U.A.,” she tells him, leaving it at that to keep things simple. If Nezu wants more information, he’ll just have to ask. 

“I only ask, Ms. Midoriya, because there have been some similar ones lately, though, not done by the same villain. I need to be sure that you and your son are fully aware of the possibility this new villain might attempt to attack the school,” Nezu explains. 

“You make it sound like it’s inevitable that they will,” Inko says. 

Nezu nods in agreement as he leans forward, placing his paws on the desk in front of him. “Well, I imagine the likelihood is rather high, considering the godly lineage flowing through your son’s veins,” he tells her. 

Inko blinks and frowns, the tone of his voice starting to grate on her. “How did you come to know of that?” she asks.

“I doubt you’d be surprised to know that quite a few heroes are simply demigods taking advantage of the system created by the existence of quirks,” he says, continuing when she nods in understanding, “Japan’s number one hero, All Might, is a demigod himself. He’ll be guest teaching this year. He informed me of the existence of gods and their children a number of years ago after I saw him dispose of a manticore that attacked a park.”

It’s not the kind of secret to be shared as easily as Nezu is making it sound. If she wants to know the intricacies of that reveal, she would have to ask. It leads Inko to believe the principal is doing the same to her that she is to him. Asking for elaboration could show her own motives, somehow give Nezu some kind of advantage over her, and Inko has lived far too long to fall for those kinds of tricks now. Besides, the important piece of information there is that the manticore was taken care of by another demigod. She couldn’t care less about the rest right now, not when she feels something in her chest loosen slightly at the knowledge that that monster is gone from the Earth for now.

“I see,” she says simply. “Well, rest assured, I have no intentions to confront any monster and, while I cannot give any absolute promises for my son, I will speak with him.”

Nezu simply nods, his smile remaining polite as he looks back at her resume. “Of course. Now, why do you want this position, Ms. Midoriya? The program is fairly new and we haven’t entirely worked out all the kinks yet, but you seem eager to apply anyway.”

“I have experience working with teenagers who go through traumatic experiences. In addition, my aura itself is one that promotes healing, both physically and mentally. Just spending time in a room with me would make students feel more relaxed and at peace with themselves,” she explains. 

The questions that follow actually pertain to the duties Inko would be performing as one of the school’s counselors. While that does relax her a little bit, it does nothing to soothe her entirely. She walks away from the interview with the job and a slight frown. Not knowing if Nezu is planning anything frustrates her. What upsets her even more is the thought that she might just be paranoid and there’s nothing wrong. 

His question about the monster attacks makes sense. There’s no point in hiring Inko if she’s going to run off to slay a monster the moment it shows its face. Inko lets out a huff of air and decides to go find the teachers’ offices. If she can find All Might, then maybe she can get him to further explain why he informed Nezu of the existence of gods. She’ll go find Izuku and tell him about the manticore’s fate after.

* * *

There are several new additions to the common area when the class gets back to the dorm building. In each corner of the room, so long as it isn’t blocking something important, there is a potted plant of some kind. Two bamboo clusters are on each side of the TV, tall enough for some of their leaves to brush against the top of the screen without blocking it. Some plants are hanging in pots, held by small hooks placed in the ceiling. The coffee table has a planter on it, the pink and yellow flowers standing proudly at being placed in a central area of the room for all to see. On the kitchen counters are several miniature pots with herbs growing in them, looking vibrant and ready for use in cooking. 

It’s quite the surprise to walk into, and Momo recovers from it faster than Shouto. She goes right over to the flowers on the coffee table with a delighted smile, crouching down to get a better look. “These are called  alstroemeria . They symbolize prosperity, fortune, and friendship,” she explains, looking up at Shouto. “They originate in the mountains of South America.”

Every plant perks up when Izuku walks into the room, straightening as though hoping to gain his attention. They certainly aren’t disappointed, as Izuku lights up at the sight of them and begins to make rounds, going to the closest hanging plant, a fern, and cooing to it as he inspects the leaves. Shouto isn’t entirely sure why he’s bothering. All the plants look to be in perfect health. 

He’s so caught up in the plant he doesn’t notice the bewildered looks his new classmates are giving both him and the room. “Uh, dude, are these yours?” Kaminari asks, “What are they doing out here?”

Izuku pauses in his cooing and looks back to the class, his cheeks reddening as pink flowers with layered petals bloom in his hair. His eyes flit across the plants before looking back to Kaminari. “Yes, well, they’re sort of related to my quirk, I guess. These specific ones are supposed to help brighten up the common area, though, and give it more energy,” he explains. 

Next to him, Shouto can hear Momo curiously mumble, “Are those  peonies ?” He glances at her and then follows her gaze to the flowers in Izuku’s hair. The pink stands out nicely against the green of his hair and Shouto finds himself wanting one of the flowers for himself.

“What even is your quirk? It’s gotta have something to do with the flowers in your hair, right?” Shinsou says.

That somehow makes Izuku get redder and he reaches up, easily tugging one of the flowers out and inspecting the petals. “Well, I guess the easiest explanation is that I can control plants. Though, it is a bit more complicated. It’s less that I can control plants and more that I can interact with their energy. Everything has energy, you see, but I’m in tune with flora specifically. I can encourage them to grow or wither, give them energy, or take energy from them. For the most part, they’ll do as I ask. Some are rather stubborn, though, and need more convincing than others,” he explains, glancing up at the class. 

“What’s up with the flowers, then?” Ashido asks. “You know, the ones that keep blooming in your hair and all? They’re different every time.”

Before Izuku can respond, Bakugou says, “That just happens whenever he’s feeling emotional or some shit. He used to get sunflowers all the damn time when we were kids.”

“So they’re connected to whatever you’re feeling?” Momo asks curiously.

Izuku nods once. “Yeah. I can control it if I want to, but I tend to be an emotional person in general, so a lot of my focus would have to go towards keeping them from blooming almost all the time. It’s just easier to not do that,” he explains. 

And now all Shouto wants to do is see how many different flowers can bloom in Izuku’s hair. Can he only bloom flowers he’s seen before? If he focused, could he make specific flowers bloom? They obviously fall out, so does that mean they whither like normal flowers or do they last longer because they’re part of his quirk? Is there any guarantee of what the flowers mean?

“You got in on recommendation, right? Who was it?” Jirou asks, crossing her arms. 

Even more of the pink flowers bloom in Izuku’s hair, some of the older ones falling out to make room for new ones. Izuku flushes and quickly picks up the flowers, gently placing them into a pocket of his bag. “Oh, um, an American hero. Lightning Thief,” he replies, his voice getting quieter. Shouto can barely hear the name, almost thinking he’d heard wrong.

“Lightning Thief? Isn’t he ranked first in America?” Sero asks, disbelief obvious in his voice. 

Izuku takes a deep breath and, when he looks up at the class, seems a bit more confident than before. Shouto can’t tell if it’s an act or not. “Yeah. He really does prefer to be called Percy, though,” he explains. 

“Oi, Hana, you must be strong if you got recommended by him, right? Much stronger than when we were kids. Let’s fight. Right here, right now, let’s fucking go,” Bakugou says, stepping forward with an excited grin and his hand curled to a fist in front of him. 

Instead of meeting the challenge, Izuku just smiles weakly as he takes a step back, holding his hands up in front of him. “I’d rather not fight right now, Kacchan. I’m sure we’ll get the chance to spar during class or something, though,” he says. 

Shouto doesn’t pay attention to whatever Bakugou says in return, his mind starting to wander at the thought of what Izuku’s fighting style might be. Does he mainly use his quirk for offense or defense? Is his fighting mostly physical with his quirk providing support? Does Izuku get a breathless smile during fights or does his expression become one of fierce determination? Would they fight well together, if they teamed up?

An elbow digging into his ribs pulls Shouto out of his thoughts and he glances over to Momo, blinking at her knowing smile. “Don’t get too lost in thought,” she whispers. “You might miss him looking at you.”

“He was looking at me?” he asks. He looks back at Izuku, realizing that he’s still glowing. It’s not quite as bright as before, the light gentler as it surrounds him. Maybe it’s part of his quirk. He wants to ask about it, but now probably isn’t the time.

He sees Momo nodding in the corner of his vision, but Shouto still doesn’t quite believe her. There’s not much point to Izuku looking at him. Besides, he seems a little too preoccupied with talking Bakugou down from a fight to spare any time for Shouto. But he wants Izuku to look at him, and wishes he knew how to make that happen. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I realize some of the flowers mentioned here in the guide will have explanations in the chapter itself, but for the sake of having all the meanings in one place, I'll still include them here.
> 
> Flower guide:  
> Alstroemeria- Fortune, friendship, prosperity  
> Peony- Bashfulness or bravery, depending on the context


	4. Chapter 4

Izuku leaves the door to his room open when he gets back to it. The thought of closing it, of being trapped in a small space after his open cabin at Camp Half-blood, makes Izuku feel even more stressed. He wants easier access to nature, but it’s not like he can ask for permission to get rid of his wall. Well, he probably could, but there’s absolutely no way any teacher would let him.

He collapses onto his bed and throws his arm over his eyes, feeling absolutely drained from answering as many of his classmates’ questions as he could. Some he had to deflect, since the only way to explain would possibly reveal the truth about demigods. He has a feeling those questions are just going to come back later, though. 

Something wraps around his hand and Izuku lowers his arm enough to glance over. One of the vines from the trellis by his bed is squeezing his fingers, its energy comforting. “Thanks,” he says, smiling a little as he pushes himself up. The vine wraps up his arm and he looks around the room, making sure all of the plants are still content. 

He notices one of the succulents on the window sill has a stressed energy, so Izuku stands from the bed and walks over to it. He gently picks up the small pot, brushing his fingers over the succulent with a soft hum. “Yes, a change of scenery is a bit nerve-wracking. The sun is very nice here, though, and you know I don’t forget to water you. I think you’ll like it if you only give it a chance,” he tells it, the plant perking up a little under his touch. 

“Why am I not surprised you still talk to the plants?”

Izuku blinks and looks over his shoulder to see Katsuki leaning against his door frame with an unimpressed look. “Why wouldn’t I, Kacchan? It helps calm them down,” he explains, placing the succulent back on the window sill. 

He hears the door shut and turns to watch Katsuki walk over to the bed and sit down. “It’s fucking weird but whatever. I’d rather learn why you came back now and why you fucking left in the first place,” he says. 

This conversation is unavoidable. Izuku knows that. He’s still not looking forward to actually having it, though. 

“It’s a bit of a complicated story,” he says, pulling out his desk chair and sitting down. He gently unwraps the vine from his arm, looking it over carefully as it preens under his touch. Katsuki doesn’t say anything as he does, the silence making Izuku feel even more nervous than before.  Christmas roses bloom in his hair once more in the face of his childhood friend’s silence. He remembers Katsuki being loud, unapologetically so.

Izuku sighs and looks up at him. “Do you remember, when we were kids, that I was always obsessed with Greek mythology and stuff?” he asks. 

“How could I forget? You’d have some new story to talk about every single day.”

“Right, well, I was so obsessed because all of that is, well, real. As in, it all happened. The gods, the monsters….the demigods. All real.”

There’s no response for a moment and Izuku looks up to see Katsuki’s scrunched up expression, like he’s trying to think beyond the initial instinct to tell Izuku to not bullshit him. “How the fuck am I supposed to believe that? And what does that have to do with anything, anyway? You trying to tell me you’re, what, a god, or something?”

“Well, or something. I’m a demigod. And I’m not too sure how to prove it to you, but it is the truth.”

“Does that mean your dad was the god? How fucking strong did that villain have to be to take down a fucking go-” Katsuki cuts himself off. He growls and runs a hand through his hair. “Shit. Sorry.”

Izuku shakes his head, focusing his attention on the vine around his arm. The reminder still hurts and he knows there are  hyacinths blooming in his hair. He takes a deep breath. “No, Mom is the goddess. Dad was just a mortal she fell in love with. It happens more often than you’d think. That day at the park, it wasn’t really a villain that showed up. It’s called a manticore,  a monster , and it was attracted there by my scent. There’s something about the way I smell that’s different from mortals because of that godliness.”

“Wait, so Auntie is a fucking goddess? Of what? Does she go by a different name or something? How fucking old is she?”

“Yes, Mom is a goddess. She’s the Goddess of Renewal. It’s a bit of an odd mash-up of spring and the dead that her parents reside over. But, basically, my power is one that allows me to feel the energy of plants and manipulate it, things like that. Her power is doing that with  _ everything _ there is. She can have an affect on plants, animals, humans, even the general aura of a place can become what she wants it to be.”

Katsuki appears to consider this for a moment, eyes narrowed as he thinks. “Okay, she’s a goddess, you’re her kid, that thing that killed Uncle was a monster. Is that why you moved so suddenly? Cuz of some fucking monster? We could’ve protected you, ya know.”

This one isn’t really harder to explain, but it’s the one that Izuku knows Katsuki won’t accept as easily. He’ll see it as running away. And it was, technically, but sometimes you have to run away so you can come back stronger. “Yes, it’s why we moved to America. There’s a larger demigod population there. More monsters, but also more protection. Mom doesn’t like to fight, she can if she needs to, but she doesn’t like it. For us, it was just easier to go to America, to protect your family and ourselves by leaving the country.”

As Izuku thought, the explanation makes Katsuki’s face twist in annoyance and frustration. “So you ran away? What the fuck, Hana?” he asks. 

“It’s complicated. You wouldn’t understand and I don’t want you to ever be able to understand.”

“Fucking try me.”

Izuku stands, feeling too much nervous energy coursing through him. He’s not sure if it’s himself, the plants, or both. He starts to pace, the  Christmas roses from earlier coming back with a vengeance while the vine around his arm squeezes in a way he thinks is supposed to be soothing. He picks up the hyacinths that fell to the ground whenever he passes one. “Did you know, most demigods don’t make it to their eighteenth birthday? We’re usually killed, hunted down by monsters and killed. Some of us have it worse because our godly parents are more powerful.  The big three , Hades, Zeus, Poseidon, their children are in the most danger. I’m a direct descendent of Hades, his grandson. That puts me at more risk than a Hermes kid, but still less than an actual child of Hades.

“But I’m also the only demigod around whose godly parent is with them all the time. Most gods are the fucking worst parents, because of Zeus, mostly, but still. Mom being around me means my scent is that much stronger. No matter where I go, monsters are going to find me. I have to constantly be looking over my shoulder, constantly questioning whether or not that person has a quirk or is a monster trying to kill me, constantly wondering if I’m putting people in danger by being out in public. 

“America is the only place with a good stronghold where demigods can come together and feel relatively safe. It’s a camp with a magic barrier around it to keep out just about any kind of monster. Only people with godly lineage can even hope to find it. You get trained there, how to survive, how to fight, how to keep other people safe. It’s a haven for demigods, somewhere we can finally just relax without worrying we’ll get killed because of it.”

He takes another breath to keep going, but a hand smacks over his mouth. Izuku blinks and looks up to see Katsuki standing in front of him, frowning. “You still talk so fucking much,” he says, slowly moving his hand away. Izuku pouts at him, rubbing at his stinging skin. “Okay, so you went to this place to get strong. Fine. Why are you back now? And keep it short, Hana, I swear to god.”

“Gods.”

“What?”

Izuku smiles a little sheepishly. “Gods. Multiple. It’s just, now that you know, that’s a thing. If you have to curse, you might as well make sure you’re cursing out the ones responsible for the mess you’re in. There are multiple gods and none of them should get to escape blame,” he explains. 

“Fucking fine. Just explain.”

“I felt like I had to come back. Though, I especially wanted to after watching the second year sports festival. Enough time had passed. I’m stronger now, I know how to fight, and U.A. is the best place to learn how to be a hero after Camp Half-Blood.”

The nervous energy of the room has receded a bit. Izuku thinks it was mostly coming from the plants reacting to Katsuki’s slightly explosive nature. He can’t blame them. It’s easy to be scared of something that could decimate you in seconds. 

Katsuki slowly nods, walking over to the desk and sitting down on the chair. He looks expectantly between Izuku and the bed, only relaxing a bit when Izuku is sitting down as well. “What about the manti….bore….thing?” he asks. 

“The manticore. It's dead. Mom texted me a bit ago and said that All Might had taken care of it. Oh, All Might is also a demigod. And apparently Nezu is in on the secret. Anyway, the manticore is dead but that doesn't stop other monsters from showing up,” Izuku explains. 

“Right. So something might come after you again,” he says. Izuku nods and he gets a near-feral grin. “Then it’s just gonna have to go through me.”

Izuku blinks and smiles a little, wondering if he should be worried about Katsuki’s eagerness to fight a monster. “I’m stronger now, Kacchan. I have much better control of my power and know how to fight these monsters. I’ll appreciate the help, though.”

His friend huffs, but doesn’t argue. Instead, Katsuki looks out the window, seeming to consider something for a moment. “You said you watched the sports festival, right?” he asks. “What did you think of the events and stuff?”

“Oh! They were so cool! I watched the first year, too. Your quirk has gotten so powerful, Kacchan! Oh, but Sho-Todo….I’m not sure if it’s okay to use first names or not.”

“They use first names in America, right? If that’s what you’re used to, then just use it. IcyHot will tell you otherwise if he really fucking hates it,” Katsuki says. 

Izuku smiles gratefully and nods. “Right, okay. Shouto’s quirk is so cool! He can use ice and fire, right? Though, he does seem to favor just his ice at the moment. I wonder why that is. Especially since it seems like just focusing on his ice can incapacitate him if he doesn’t regulate with the fire during a fight. Maybe he hasn’t figured that out yet. Well, either way, he’s still really powerful! That huge glacier he made in his first year was incredible. Oh, and so was the way he turned the whole arena into an ice rink for this festival. Watching him fight was really exciting and I kind of wished I’d been here to see it in person. I bet there’s a lot of intricacies to his movements that the cameras can’t pick up an-”

“Do you have a fucking crush on him?”

The question makes Izuku choke on his words, coughing as he tries to catch his breath. His face is bright red by the time he has. “A  _ crush _ ? What gave you that idea? Of course not!” 

Katsuki narrows his eyes slightly. “Don’t try to bullshit me, Hana. You may have been gone for a while, but your still easy to read. Every time you like something, you can’t fucking shut up about it. You haven’t even spoken two fucking words to the dude but you’ve got a crush.”

Izuku’s face gets redder and he hides it in his hands. Fuck. “Okay, okay, maybe. He’s just so pretty, Kacchan! And he looks really cool, too. I just wanna talk to him, at least. Do you think he’d be my friend?” he asks, parting his fingers so he can look at Katsuki through them. 

He’s got an exasperated expression. “Fuck, you’re a mess. He’s really not as cool as you think. Do you want help talking to him or something?”

“Yes! Please, help me. I just want to be his friend, at least.”  Daisies bloom in his hair, pushing out the tiny flowers that had grown from Izuku’s anxiousness. They fall to the bed around him, immediately getting picked up and placed on the nightstand by Izuku. He can put them into his flower box later.

Katsuki gets a grin as he leans forward in the chair. “You’ve got powers instead of a quirk, right? So if I beat you in a fight, it’d be like beating a god, right? I help you get with IcyHot and you fight me, full power, no holding back,” he offers. 

Izuku pauses, considering for a moment before figuring why not. “Okay, deal. Though, just being his friend is enough, you know,” he points out. 

“Oh, no, if we’re doing this, we’re going all the fuck out.”

* * *

“So, how are we going to get you and Midoriya together?”

Shouto blinks and looks up at Momo, the homework in his lap forgotten for the moment. She’s turned to face him, one leg crossed over the other. Her book isn’t even open on her desk and Shouto wonders how long she’s been ignoring studying before speaking. Was she staring, waiting for him to notice her? 

His brain finally catches up to what she says and he frowns slightly. “What do you mean?” he asks. Momo gets an unimpressed look and he sighs, closing his book. “I don’t need your help.”

“Then what are you planning to do to get closer to him?”

“Sit by him during lunch and in the common area. That way he can get used to my presence.”

Momo is silent for a moment before letting out a weary sigh and shaking her head. “Midoriya isn’t a cat, Shouto. You should talk to him, get to know him, learn about his interests and let him learn about yours.”

It can’t possibly be as easy as Momo is making it sound. Shouto frowns and looks away from her. “That would be presumptuous, I think,” he replies. 

“Shouto, he’s from America. He asked us to call him by his first name, despite knowing none of us. I think this is the least presumptuous thing you could do,” she points out. “It’s not like he’d be scared of you or anything.”

Oh, that’s something Shouto hadn’t considered. He looks down at his left hand, imagining the flames that can be conjured from it. “Should he be? I do create fire and he controls plants. Would it not make sense for him to be wary of me, at least?”

The bed dips as Momo sits next to him. “Stop that sort of thinking right now. You have excellent control of your quirk, so I know you won’t hurt him.”

“But that doesn’t mean  _ he _ knows I won’t hurt him. Maybe Midoriya is already wary of me.”

Momo looks unconvinced but she doesn’t argue right away. Instead, she crosses her arms and hums softly in thought. He appreciates her taking his concerns seriously, even if she doesn’t believe they’re as big a deal as he knows they are. 

Midoriya’s quirk basically lets him feel plants, their energy and possibly their emotions, if Shouto understood his explanation. Why would he want to get near someone with a quirk that can destroy plants, burn them, turn them to ash? His fire is destructive, snuffs out life without a second thought. Even if Midoriya wasn’t wary of him, Shouto is wary of even thinking about using his quirk around him. 

“Okay,” Momo says, pulling him out of his thoughts, “I suppose you might have a point about him being wary of you. However, I don’t think it’s something you should worry about. You just have to show Midoriya that you aren’t the kind to use your quirk without thinking. If you’re aware of the setting and make sure it doesn’t ever come close to causing harm, you should be fine.

“Plus, you’re forgetting that you have another side to your quirk. Fire  _ and _ ice. You aren’t just destructive. Ice can preserve flowers through the winter by encasing them in frost so they don’t whither or die.”

“Or I could give him frostbite.”

Momo blinks and sighs, shaking her head. “Please, just trust yourself, okay? You’re a catch, Shouto, and Midoriya would be blind to not see that. But he won’t even get the chance if you don’t at least talk to him.”

As much as Shouto wants to keep arguing, wants to tell Momo all his doubts about this, he decides that he shouldn’t burden her with it all right now. So he just nods once and flashes her a tight smile. “Right, thank you, Momo.”

She smiles back at him and moves back to the desk, the conversation apparently over now. Despite opening his book once more with all intents and purposes of going back to studying, Shouto feels himself getting stuck on a sudden thought. He stares at the words on the page for a moment before closing the book once more and looking at Momo. 

“Should I get him fertilizer?”

“I-what?”

“Fertilizer. He has a plant quirk. Would fertilizer be a good welcome gift? It would give me an excuse to talk to him.”

Momo stares at him, possibly searching his face for something. He isn’t really sure what, though. She must not find it, since she covers her face with her hands and takes a deep breath. “No, you do not get someone fertilizer, even if they do have a plant related quirk.”

“Okay. What about one of those watering….bulb….things….the ones from the American commercials?”

“From that infomercial we saw on HeroTube? While those things are convenient, wouldn’t they be misconstrued as an insult? Midoriya probably takes great pride in knowing his plants’ needs and taking care of them himself.”

“You said earlier he’s from America. That’s where the….thing is from. Maybe it would remind him of home.”

“No. Just….no. If you’re going to get him something, why not a flower?”

Oh, that sort of makes sense. But that could be presumptuous as well, right? And what kind of flower would Midoriya even want? Does he have plants he hates or does he like every species because of his quirk?

“A bouquet?”

Momo shakes her head as she leans back in the chair. She’s closed her eyes, clearly thinking of what might be a good gift. “I think he would prefer something potted. Bouquets are cut, which he may not like. A live plant would be better, since it’s something he can take care of along with his other ones.”

“Perhaps a cactus.”

“What? No. Why do you even need to get him a welcome gift? Just go say hello. Midoriya seems very friendly, so I’m sure he’d talk to you.”

“It would be weird to go up to him empty-handed. Plus, I still have my father’s credit card, so cost isn’t an issue.”

For a moment, Momo appears to consider. Shouto thinks she’s about to agree when she suddenly frowns and shakes her head. “We might be overthinking this.”

“How so?”

“Well, why not just offer Midoriya your notes? I know yours are organized and you could offer to explain anything he doesn’t understand.”

Offering his notes would certainly be easier than trying to find a plant Izuku would like. And Shouto is able to talk more about class notes than he is about plants anyway. “You might have a point,” he concedes. 

“Might?”

“Okay, you have a point.”

Momo nods in approval and turns the chair back towards the desk. “Good. You can offer him your notes tomorrow. Might I suggest doing so in the morning before leaving the dorm?”

That means he’ll have to wake up earlier than usual. But the thought of getting to talk to Izuku, getting to know him, makes that more than worth it.

* * *

The smell of coffee is the first thing to greet Shouto when he gets down to the common area. He starts to follow it to the kitchen, but stops when he sees Izuku spritzing one of the hanging plants by the front door with a little spray bottle. He’s saying something to the plant and the green glow around him is a bit brighter than it was yesterday. 

The weight of Shouto’s bag feels a little heavier as he remembers the conversation with Momo last night. This is as good an opportunity as any to offer his notes, right? He could introduce himself, at the very least. It would get Momo off his back as well. She wouldn’t be able to give him goading looks during class if he talks to Izuku now. With that in mind, Shouto walks over to him.

Just before he gets to him, Izuku turns towards the next plant, stopping short at seeing Shouto. They stare at each other for a second before Izuku gets a bright smile, small pink flowers with black centers sprouting in his hair. Shouto wishes he knew the meaning of them. “Good morning, Sho-Todoroki.” 

Does Izuku want to call him by his first name? That’s something they do in America, right? It’s probably something that Izuku is comfortable with doing, which means Shouto should reassure him that it’s okay. Then again, that might seem too eager, given this is their first conversation. Maybe it’s something to save for another time. Like their second conversation. 

“Good morning, Midoriya. Since you’ve come in late, would you like to see my notes from previous classes?” he asks. 

The glow around Izuku seems to dim slightly, even as his smile becomes wider. “That would be great, thanks! I should be fine without English notes, though,” he replies. 

“If you don’t mind my asking, are you more fluent in Japanese or English after living in America?” he asks. 

Izuku hums softly in thought. “I think I might be a bit more fluent in English, just because that’s what almost everyone was speaking around me. But my mother continued to speak Japanese with me so I wouldn’t forget it.”

The main point Shouto takes from his response is that Izuku’s fluency is good enough for him to easily take top marks in English. And while Shouto definitely doesn’t need help in that class, it does offer a good opportunity to spend more time with Izuku outside of class. “Perhaps we could study together, then. As long as you don’t mind,” he says. 

Larger flowers sprout among the smaller ones as Izuku lights up. Shouto stares at them for a moment before recognizing them as  sunflowers . Maybe he should consider getting a flower encyclopedia, just so he can know all the flowers that can bloom in Izuku’s hair. He’s so distracted by the thought that he only catches the last half of the response.

“-art tonight? It might help me catch up with everyone faster.”

Tonight? Is Shouto doing anything tonight? Well, he might have been spending it with Momo, but he’s sure she’ll understand if he cancels. In fact, she would probably be upset with him if he didn’t cancel. “Sure, I could come to your room after dinner,” he offers. 

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

Shouto can’t help flashing a slight smile in return. When he does, the sunflowers in Izuku's hair are joined by pink ones that Shouto recognizes as  sakura . Once again, he finds himself wishing he knew what emotion made them bloom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flower Guide:  
> Pink Anemone- Anticipation  
> Christmas Roses- Anxiousness  
> Daisies- Hope or excitement  
> Hyacinth- Sorrow  
> Sakura- Affection  
> Sunflowers- Happiness


	5. Chapter 5

Focusing in class is harder than Izuku thought it would be. All he can think about is the study session at the end of the day. He doesn’t think they’ll do much beyond studying, but maybe they’ll talk and he can get to know more about Shouto. It’s a good thing that the other boy made the first move, right? That could mean that he’s interested in friendship, at least. 

Part of Izuku wants to just go for it, ask Shouto on a date and hope for the best. That might just be the demigod in him talking, though. Something he’s noticed is that most demigods don’t really hold back when it comes to decisions like this. When they could die any day, why let an opportunity pass them by? 

That sort of forwardness is perfectly fine in America, but it’s not something he should do in Japan. It’s too soon to ask for a date. That might make Shouto avoid him altogether and then Katsuki would get annoyed with Izuku for making his job harder. 

Izuku huffs softly and looks down at his notebook, examining the notes he took while zoning out. They aren’t the best example of his usually thorough note-taking. He glances over at Shouto, watching for a moment as he diligently writes what’s on the board. He's got a slight frown as he concentrates and Izuku finds himself thinking it's cute.

"Okay, that's it for now. I know this is usually your break, but we have some announcements that need to be made. After this, we'll be going to one of the training grounds for All Might’s lesson," Aizawa says, pulling Izuku out of his thoughts. He looks back to the board, only to find the teacher erasing everything, and grimaces at the notes he didn't get. Well, that's okay. They're still having a study session tonight, so he can just ask for the notes then. 

Two quick knocks precede the door to the classroom sliding open. Izuku feels the calming aura of his mother before he sees her follow Principal Nezu into the room, his shoulders relaxing and his worries fading for now. She stands next to the podium, looking over to Nezu as he pulls himself up to be visible.

"Good morning!" Nezu says, smiling at them. "U.A. has decided to implement a new program at the school by offering professional counseling services to both students and staff, free of charge, of course. Heroes often go through traumatic events that leave a lasting impact and it’s common for them to feel as though they can’t reach out for help because of their status. Asking for help does not make you weaker. We want to make sure you, as heroes-in-training, know this. Ms. Midoriya here is one of the first counselors to be hired for this program and has agreed to answer any questions you may have."

Izuku fully expects the murmurs that come from Nezu saying his mother's name. A few students glance back at him, so he smiles at them reassuringly and subtly nods towards the front of the class so they'll pay attention again. 

By the time they do, Nezu has already stepped down and Inko has taken his place behind the podium. "Hello, everyone. My name is Inko Midoriya. The counseling program will officially begin next week. Students or staff may come to our offices and request to be seen. You can request a counselor or have one assigned to you based on whatever you would like to discuss," she explains. As she speaks, Izuku watches the students at the front of the room perk up in their seats, backs straightening and eyes no longer glossed over from zoning out. "Do you have any questions?"

Kaminari raises his hand first as he asks, "So, like, you're Midoriya's mom, right?" 

Well, at least that question is gotten out of the way first. Inko nods once. "Yes. Anything else? Preferably about the counseling program.”

A few hands go down, the students looking a bit sheepish, leaving only Iida with his still in the air. “What are your qualifications for being a counselor? And does your quirk add to them?” he asks. 

Inko smiles warmly and nods, a soothing feeling spreading through the room. It’s strong enough that Izuku knows she’s doing this on purpose, perhaps to give an example of how her “quirk” could help in counseling. “I was a camp counselor for seven years, and have a doctorate in clinical psychology with a focus in adolescent counseling. As to your second question, my quirk does add to my qualifications as it allows me to manipulate the energy of a room and create a more calming atmosphere.”

“Is that what you’re doing right now?” Sero asks.

“Yes. Anxiety and nerves can make it hard to reach out for help. While I can’t get rid of your anxiety if it’s on the level of being a disorder, I can at least ease it for the time during which we speak.”

Izuku smiles slightly at seeing the impressed looks from his classmates. When he glances over at Shouto, though, he looks more puzzled than anything else. He has a frown, studying Inko while his eyes seem to trace the air around her. There’s nothing around her when Izuku looks back and he wonders what Shouto must be seeing. 

“Does therapy actually help? It’s just talking to someone. I can talk to a friend instead of a therapist,” Ashido says.

“Therapy isn’t for everyone,” Inko says easily. “But sometimes it is easier to tell something to a therapist or counselor than it is to tell a friend. As a counselor, I am legally obligated to not discuss what you tell me outside of our sessions unless I think you might be a danger to yourself or others.”

That seems to be a good enough answer, as Ashido doesn’t ask another question. She just appears thoughtful as she nods. No other hands are raised and Inko glances around the room just to make sure nobody looks like they want to ask a question. 

“As Principal Nezu said, seeing any of the counselors is free of charge. Our offices are next to the nurse’s station and we’ll begin scheduling appointments for students and staff tomorrow. If you have any questions at all, feel free to come by and we’ll answer them to the best of our ability. Thank you for your attention.”

Inko bows before stepping aside to let Aizawa stand behind the podium once more. He nods to her before looking towards the students. Izuku watches his mother follow Nezu out of the room, waving a little to her when she turns to close the door. She flashes him a warm smile and Izuku feels a little more at peace than he did before. 

A throat clearing at the front of the room pulls Izuku’s attention back to Aizawa. “Okay, go get changed. Meet outside Ground Gamma in ten minutes.”

* * *

Inko manages to intercept All Might while he’s heading towards the training area, cutting him off before he can actually leave the building. For as tall as the man is, he seems properly cowed by her blocking the doorway he tries to go through. Behind him, Aizawa just sighs and shakes his head. “Is this going to take long?” he asks. 

“Does the entire staff know, Toshinori, or is it just Nezu?” Inko asks, feeling a little bad for ignoring Aizawa but deciding it’s for the best that she gets this information first. 

With a small cough, All Might has deflated into a smaller version of himself. He’s not exactly skeletal but it’s a stark difference compared to how tall and buff he was previously. “Not the entire staff, but Eraserhead is, indeed, aware,” he says, scratching the back of his head nervously. 

She looks at Aizawa and smiles kindly. “I have to speak with Toshinori about his revealing of certain godly secrets. You don’t mind, right? It will only take a few minutes,” she says.

“Yeah, whatever, knock yourselves out,” he replies, waving them off before walking over to the wall and leaning against it. 

Inko nods once and turns her attention back to the demigod in front of her. Honestly, part of her wants to go easy on him if only for the fact that he’s survived this long. Clearly, this man could be a good role model for Izuku, an example of his ability to live longer than most demigods. But spilling their secrets to others won’t exactly help him do that. 

“Go on, then. I would appreciate an explanation.”

“Ah, yes, of course. As I’m sure you know, Principal Nezu is a very smart person. When I arrived to take care of a manticore a few years ago, he also happened to be there. Though, in all honesty, I’m not sure why. Afterward, he questioned me about the nature of the monster and it sort of slipped,” Toshinori explains. 

“It slipped?” When he nods, Inko takes a deep breath and nods. “And was it his idea to inform other members of the staff as well?”

Toshinori looks slightly uncomfortable for a moment, clearing his throat and looking away. “That was a more recent development, actually. After receiving the recommendation letter for young Midoriya, Nezu made the decision to inform Eraserhead, since he would be your son’s homeroom teacher.”

Well, she supposes that’s slightly more acceptable than what she had been envisioning before. At least Toshinori isn’t going around explaining the gods to anyone who happens to listen for more than a few seconds. She nods slowly, crossing her arms as she thinks. This is something she can accept for now.

“Fine, I understand. But I do hope you remember the importance of keeping this secret from others, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Good. Because if my Izuku happens to somehow be put in trouble that can be traced back to you telling someone about us, then you’re going to have a very angry, very powerful mother on your hands, Toshinori. As much as I dislike violence, I would not hesitate to smack you so hard you see Hades. Are we clear?”

In the face of her threat, Toshinori chuckles nervously, holding his hands up in a gesture of peace. “Crystal clear, yes, I completely understand. And I promise to do my very best to make sure your son is safe while he is here. There have been a few attacks similar to what a monster would be expected to do, all of which I have been investigating in case the villain requires a demigod to take care of them.”

Inko studies him for a long moment before nodding, her shoulders relaxing some as she smiles at the man. The air around them lightens significantly, no longer weighed down by her seriousness. “I appreciate that, truly. Should you need any help, I would be more than happy to provide my assistance,” she says. 

“This is great and all,” Aizawa says, cutting in now that the conversation seems to be falling towards small talk, “but we have a class to teach. If you don’t mind, of course.”

Despite the deadpan of his voice, Inko just nods and turns her smile to him as well. She sees him stand up a little straighter, seeming a bit confused by the action himself. “Right, right. Good luck with your class. I know Izuku has been looking forward to learning from you both,” she says.

With that, she steps out of the way of the two teachers. Toshinori, for lack of a better term, re-inflates to his hero stature. Along with it, comes the bright smile he’s known for, which he aims at Inko before stepping through the doors and holding it open for Aizawa.

* * *

The class gathers on the platform overlooking Ground Gamma, grouping together and waiting for Aizawa and All Might to show up. Izuku is excited for the lesson being taught by Japan’s number one hero,  orange daisies blooming in his hair as he bounces on the balls of his feet. It would be interesting to see how All Might differs from Percy, considering he wanted to become a popular hero in the first place. 

“Hana, what the fuck is that costume?”

Izuku blinks and glances down at himself, then back up at Katsuki. A few of their classmates are also giving his clothes a weird look. His costume is normal to him, though. It’s what he wore back at Camp Half-Blood whenever they trained. The orange Half-Blood shirt, a breastplate, cargo pants with pockets for seeds, and a belt that holds his celestial bronze daggers. It’s what he knows how to fight in. 

“What’s wrong with it?” he asks. 

“Well, it’s not really a costume, you know? It isn’t very memorable,” Uraraka says, looking him up and down with a sympathetic expression. 

He didn’t know his costume had to be memorable. It really isn’t much of a costume, if he’s being honest. He hadn’t bothered sending in anything to the support company that partners with the school, instead just bringing his own gear from Half-Blood. It had just seemed easier that way. “Does it really matter that much? As long as I know how to fight and do a good job, then my costume shouldn’t be that important,” he replies. Instead of understanding, his classmates just look a bit disappointed. He really doesn’t know what the issue is, though. 

“That might be the case in America,” Iida says, looking thoughtful, “Japan, however, puts a lot of merit on the branding of a hero, as well. If your costume is memorable, then it increases your chances of being well known. There are just enough heroes here for that sort of thing to be important. If I’m understanding American hero culture, though, there’s almost no point in trying to be memorable like that because of the sheer number of people trying to be heroes. In that case, being on top is just a matter of doing the most good; making a name for yourself via your actions rather than your look.”

The idea isn’t something Izuku has thought about before, instead being something he innately understood without having to think about. “That’s it! I don’t think Percy has a costume beyond his breastplate. People mostly recognize him either by his sword and shield or from the media.”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense. But you’re in Japan now, Izuku, and hero costumes are really important here,” Uraraka points out. 

“Couldn’t he just be known for not having a costume? That would be unique enough in our society, I think,” Shouto suggests. He’s a little outside the group, next to Yaoyorozu and Tokoyami. He’s looking over at Izuku now, considering his current outfit and humming softly. It’s not like Shouto has much of a right to talk, considering the ice detailing in his original costume design.

“Midoriya also has a bit of a Greek theme going on already. Maybe he could embrace that even more and create a costume to look like a gladiator,” Yaoyorozu adds. 

Kirishima seems to appear from nowhere, throwing an arm over Katsuki’s shoulders and grinning at him. “A gladiator? That sounds pretty manly, dontcha think, Bakubro?”

“Tch, it wouldn’t be the wimpiest thing Hana’s ever worn.”

Izuku frowns a bit and shakes his head. “Gladiators were more Roman than Greek. And I’d rather not be fighting in what's basically a skirt. There aren’t enough pockets for my seeds.”

“A skirt might look go-”

“I AM HERE!”

Whatever Shouto was going to say is immediately forgotten when All Might jumps onto the platform from somewhere above the maze. He lands in a slight crouch, his impact causing a wind that ruffles Izuku’s hair and pulls loose a few of the daisies. They’re replaced almost immediately by new ones. 

Izuku is practically vibrating with excitement. He’s met top heroes before. Demigod heroes, even. But All Might is a  _ Japanese _ demigod. Just like Izuku. He has the hero career that Izuku wants for himself. There are so many questions he wants to ask.

“Are you really going to do that every time?” Aizawa asks as he walks over to the group, raising an eyebrow at All Might. 

“It’s part of my brand, Eraserhead.”

Izuku glances to his left when he sees movement in the corner of his eyes. Shouto is frowning again, staring at All Might like he’s just now realizing something. When Izuku looks at the hero, he can’t see anything out of the ordinary. He looks back only to see Shouto staring at him with a puzzled frown. Without thinking, Izuku smiles at him before quickly looking back towards Aizawa and All Might.

“I’m sure you all remember the robots from the entrance exam,” Aizawa says, looking over the class. Most of the other students nod. Izuku feels a little left out, wondering if the robots he’s talking about are also the same ones from the first year sports festival. “Great, that’s part of what you’ll be doing today.”

There are a few groans. The robots can’t be that bad, right? They’re just machinery. The ones at the sports festival didn’t seem too difficult to fight. Then again, Izuku isn’t sure if he can judge that based on just Shouto’s part in taking them down. His ice was incredibly convenient for that obstacle. 

“They’re too big for this one, though,” Ashido says, looking out over the industrial maze of the training area. Now that she mentions it, their size would be a problem with how tight the spaces created by all the piping of the factories are.

All Might flashes them a reassuring smile. “Good eye! As Eraserhead said, the robots are part of what you’re doing today. We recently had the support classes redesign them for this kind of setting. Their designs are also going to be tested today. The goal is to get to the other end of the maze as fast as you can, utilizing a partner’s quirk to work with your own, while fighting any robots you encounter along the way.”

“You’ll be allowed to pick your partners as well,” Aizawa adds. Izuku is about to feel a little relieved until the teacher looks at him. “Except you, Midoriya. You get to go through it by yourself.”

“What? Why?”

“I need to know how strong you are without having to factor in somebody else’s quirk. So you’ll go through by yourself. It shouldn’t be a problem, considering you got in on recommendation.”

Despite the sound explanation, Izuku still somehow feels like he’s being singled out. He thinks that might be the case if the sympathetic looks from his other classmates are anything to go by. Damn.

“You’ll also go first.”

Aizawa must hate him. 

“Good fucking luck, Hana,” Katsuki says, clapping his shoulder before shoving him forward so he’s standing near the edge of the platform. 

He looks down at the maze, taking in the different pathways to get to the other side. In a few of the darker spaces created by the maze, he thinks he sees small, red lights glowing. Those must be the robots the support class modified. “Am I starting right now?” he asks, looking back at his teachers. 

All Might nods, giving him a thumbs up. “You have about five seconds to decide on a strategy, Young Midoriya. But you will get pushed in if you exceed them,” he explains. 

Izuku takes a deep breath and looks back at the maze,  amaryllis blooming in his hair. It’s not too different from the rope course at Camp Half-Blood. In fact, some of the surfaces he can choose from in this maze are wider and stabler than the rope. This should be just fine. Izuku just needs to make it to the other side. He can totally do that. 

“I just need a good jump in,” he mutters, taking a few steps back as he reaches into one of his pockets. A vine grows out from the seed he grabs, wrapping around his waist in a tight grip. Once he feels it squeeze twice, Izuku takes one more deep breath to steady himself, runs to the edge of the platform, and leaps into the maze. 

The piping is smoother than he thought and Izuku almost immediately loses his footing. He vaguely registers the gasping of a few classmates as he starts to fall, only for the vine to wrap around another pipe and swing him back up. His heart is already pounding and Izuku can’t help a slight, excited smile. 

He’s only managed to take a few more steps when there’s a glint of something moving. On instinct, Izuku jumps just in time to avoid something rushing at him. He turns in the air before landing on his feet, dagger in hand as he faces the first robot. 

It’s small, the size of a raccoon, and shaped like a scorpion. The tail that curves over its back twitches slightly and Izuku pushes down memories of a park and spikes from a similar tail. This isn’t the park and the robot isn’t a monster. It’s metal and wires, something Izuku can certainly take down.

The robot lunges at Izuku again and he jerks to the side, losing his footing once more. He doesn’t panic, letting himself fall and bringing the blade of his dagger down through the robot as it goes past. The vine catches him by wrapping around the pipe while the knife embeds into it, trapping the robot there as it sparks and twitches. He tugs the knife out, letting the robot fall to the ground, and hoists himself back up onto the pipe.

That’s one. He’s not sure how many more are going to jump out at him. He’ll just have to take them as they come. Izuku isn’t going to spare any plants for capturing them, which means any he comes across will be destroyed. If they throw all the robots at him, there won’t be any for other students. Surely there’s going to be a limit, considering there have to be enough robots for the rest of the class.

Izuku is jumping to another pipe, nearly a third of the way across the maze when something wraps around his ankle and yanks him down. He hits the pipe, feeling the impact resonate up his spine from his tailbone. The vine wraps around the nearest plank, holding him in place so he can actually see the robot that grabbed him. 

He wishes he couldn’t.

Its body is hidden by the shadows of the maze below. What grabbed him is the thing’s neck, long enough to wrap around his ankle with enough neck left over for the head to be nearly eye-level. The red lights, three on each side with one in the very middle, stare him down and Izuku shudders. Did these things really need to be so creepy?

His ankle gets yanked again and the vine’s energy starts to grow impatient. Izuku tightens his grip on his dagger and slices through the robot’s neck. Its grip on his ankle goes slack and, the moment it’s unraveled entirely, Izuku gets thrown to the next small platform by the vine. 

As much as he’d like the moment to rest, he remembers All Might’s instruction to get through as fast as he can. No stopping, then. Izuku jumps down onto what looks like external air vents. They provide better footing than rounded pipes, something he’ll happily take advantage of for a moment. 

He’s running across when he sees something punch through the metal up ahead. There’s not enough time for him to stop, so he just somersaults over the newest robot. When he turns to face it, Izuku does a double-take. 

This one is small, no bigger than a bunny, and has a little drill for a head. “Aww, you’re kinda cute,” he says, smiling a bit. Not taking it out right away is, apparently, the wrong thing to do. A small panel on its back opens and a spinning saw shoots out at him. Izuku yelps as he bends backward, nearly parallel to the air duct as he stares at the whirring saw above him with wide eyes. “NOT CUTE!”

He straightens up when the saw moves back and throws the dagger at the robot, sacrificing the weapon when he sees it’s pinned the robot to the metal. The teachers will surely let him go back for it later. Or it’ll be given back to him by someone. Either way, he’s wasted enough time already. At this rate, he might end up having the slowest time despite being the first one to go across. That’s unacceptable, especially since the only reason he’s doing this solo is that Aizawa wants to measure his power.

He runs into four more robots as he completes the maze. One scorpion, two more of the long-necked ones, and one more drill right before he gets to the end. Izuku also loses his second dagger to the void of the maze when he throws it to take out the second of the two long-necked robots that try to grab him. After that, he has to grow a second vine from his pocket to squeeze the last drill robot to death. 

By the time Izuku rolls onto the platform at the end of the maze, he’s slightly out of breath and sweat is making hair stick to his forehead. But he got through it and, according to the monitor on the platform with him, it took seven minutes. Hopefully, that isn’t too bad. Getting across the extensive rope course at Camp Half-Blood usually takes him about three minutes if he’s having to avoid projectiles being thrown at him. 

He pushes himself back onto his feet and turns to look across the maze. Ashido and Sero have already started their own run. Tape is holding Ashido secure on Sero’s back, allowing her to throw acid at any robots that come near them while they swing across. They make quick work of the maze, getting to the platform in four minutes. 

“That was so cool!” Izuku exclaims once Ashido has gotten off Sero,  colorful daisies once again blooming in his hair. He manages to catch a few of the  amaryllis as they fall, gently placing them in his pockets as he asks, “Can you control the levels of your acidity? You secrete it, right? Is the secretion like a constant thing or can you focus on one area specifically? Does it hurt people if they touch your acid?”

The questions catch Ashido off-guard for a moment. Then she gets a huge grin and throws an arm over Izuku’s shoulder. “You want the full answer or the Reader’s Digest?” she asks. 

“Full, of course! Oh, and you, too, Sero. I have so many questions about your tape. Is it endless? Do you have to eat to create more? Is it biological material? What makes it sticky? Are the dispensers in your elbows made of bone? If they break, would they need to heal the way bones do?”

“How about one at a time?” Sero suggests, looking a little flustered from the attention. He’s rubbing at the back of his neck with a sheepish grin and Izuku wonders if he’s never been asked questions like this before. That would be ridiculous, though, since his quirk is so versatile and leaves so much to wonder about. 

Izuku doesn’t get to ask him about it since Ashido starts to describe the way her quirk works. He doesn’t have a notebook with him but wishes he did so he could write it all down. For now, he’ll just have to settle with hoping he can remember all of it. Maybe Ashido wouldn’t mind repeating her explanation to him later.

He doesn’t even realize that most of the class has made it across the maze in the time he’s been listening to Ashido and Sero until somebody taps on his shoulder. Izuku turns to see Shouto holding out the two daggers with a blank expression. “You should be more careful about not losing these, Midoriya,” he says. 

“Did you grab these when you went across?” Izuku asks, smiling gratefully as he takes them. He wonders what the Mist makes them look weird enough to warrant questions about how he managed to slice through robots with them. 

“Yes, they’re impressive daggers. The second one was a bit harder to grab, though. It had fallen between some of the piping closer to the ground.”

Wait, did Shouto call them daggers? Is that what everyone else was seeing as well? Did the Mist not feel the need to hide these since he’s in a place they can reasonably be used?

“Todoroki, dude, what the hell are you talking about? Those are rulers. Which, like, kinda weird, Midoriya, but you do you, I guess,” Kaminari says, frowning at the daggers in Izuku’s hands before getting pulled back into his conversation with Kirishima. 

“They...aren’t rulers,” Shouto says after a moment.

Oh. If everyone else is seeing rulers, then maybe Shouto can just see through the Mist. Does that mean he’s also a demigod? No, it couldn’t, demigods tend to know when they’ve run into each other. Maybe he’s just one of the rare few that can see through it, then.

“It’s, uh, a camouflage technique. If you’re looking at them from the wrong angle, they just look like rulers,” Izuku explains, quickly sheathing them in his belt once more. 

The explanation doesn’t seem to do a good job of convincing Shouto. He looks like he wants to ask more questions that Izuku isn’t sure he’ll know how to answer. Luckily, Aizawa and All Might come onto the platform to discuss the results of the exercise, saving Izuku from having to explain anything just yet. 

He gets the feeling he won’t be able to avoid questions when they study together later, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flower Guide:  
> Amaryllis: Determination  
> Daisies: Excitement


	6. Chapter 6

There is exactly one hour before Izuku is supposed to study with Shouto. Instead of spending that time getting ready, he’s currently in Katsuki’s room, pacing across the floor while his friend is laying down on the bed watching him. “You’re freaking out over nothing,” he says. 

“It’s not nothing! I’m allowed to be nervous, I think.”

“Okay, fine, then let’s do something to make you less nervous. Like plan.”

Izuku pauses, looking over to him. “Plan what?”

“Your seduction techniques.”

“My  _ what _ now?”

Katsuki just grins and stands, walking over to Izuku. He places his hands on his shoulders and leads him to sit down in the chair. “We’re going to plan how you can get IcyHot to kiss you. The easiest way would be to just go for it. You know, grow a pair and just do it.”

“Absolutely not. What if he doesn’t even want to be kissed by me?”

“Then he’s stupid and I’ll punch him until he does.”

As nice as it is to know Katsuki would beat someone up for him, Izuku quickly shakes his head to shoot down that idea. “There will be no punching,” he says.

“You sure? Cuz I could just show up and start a fight with him? Then you could swoop in and fight me off and play hero and stuff. Maybe he’ll swoon, or something, I don’t fucking know.”

“That sounds like you just want me to fight you.” When there isn’t an immediate response, Izuku knows he’s right. He leans back in the chair, his leg bouncing now that he can’t pace. When he looks back to Katsuki, he has a slightly frustrated expression, and Izuku sighs softly. “Okay, how about this, we’ll do a lightning round. Say any idea that comes to mind, I’ll respond, and we’ll move on to the next one if it’s a no.”

“Deal. We can have the brainwasher knock him out and the only way he can wake up is if you kiss him.”

“That sounds both like Sleeping Beauty and a bad idea.”

“Fine, then I can lock the both of you in a closet together and won’t let you out until something happens.”

“I’m not a fan of small spaces like that.”

“You make mistletoe and the rules of Christmas say he has to kiss you under that shit.”

“One, it’s not Christmas. Two, he’s taller than me so it’s not like I’d be able to hang the mistletoe over him without it being weird and obvious.”

“Punch him in the stomach so he’ll lean down and then hold the mistletoe over him.”

“No.”

“You’re absolutely zero fun, Hana, you know that? Fine, then make him trip on top of you and do that thing where you accidentally kiss for some fucking reason.”

“Kacchan, have you been watching cheesy romance movies lately?”

He has his answer when there is, once again, a lack of an immediate response. 

“It doesn’t help if you’re shooting down every fucking idea,” Katsuki points out. 

Izuku takes a deep breath and shakes his head, not sure if he should be amused or frustrated right now. When he runs a hand through his hair and pulls out a petunia, he figures he has his answer. “Why is it that all of your ideas involve fighting or weirdly forced kisses?” he asks. 

His friend shrugs and leans back a bit. “If you don’t like any of my ideas, then just come up with your own. Fucking ask him out or something.”

“Why can’t this just be simple studying? Why does it have to be a step towards asking him out? Maybe I’d like to just be able to ask him questions about our classes so I can catch up,” Izuku points out. 

Katsuki rolls his eyes but does seem to make the decision to lighten up. “Fine, do that, then. Don’t be so nervous about studying if it’s just studying, geez.”

Well, he does have a bit of a point. Izuku takes a deep breath and nods. “Yeah, you’re right. Thanks, Kacchan. I think I’m just going to go to my room to clean it up a bit,” he says, standing up from the chair.

“Yeah, yeah, have fun studying, ya nerd.”

* * *

He’s only been in his room for ten minutes and his plants are already picking up on his nerves, some of them standing as straight as possible and practically shaking from the effort, while others are curled in on themselves in an attempt to look small. Izuku feels a little bad for affecting them so intensely and forces himself to take a deep breath. He goes over to a fern that’s quivering and gently runs his fingers over the leaves, trying to reassure the poor plant that, really, everything is fine. 

He’s just freaking out over having a boy over. Not even for a date, which would be slightly more acceptable to be anxious about, but to study. As much as Katsuki was trying to help him earlier, none of his suggestions were actually feasible. But, somehow, he still feels as if he needs to use this opportunity to make some progress with Shouto, even if he still just wants to approach the situation as simply a study session. All of this merely makes Izuku’s stomach twist and his palms sweat.

The fern starts to shake again.

Izuku sighs. “Sorry, I’m not really helping,” he says softly, pulling his hand away from the plant. Its nervous energy lowers slightly, new and reassuring energy filling it and pushing out towards Izuku. He smiles a little, appreciating the sentiment.

There’s a knock on the door before he really gets the chance to take another deep breath and let himself calm down. Izuku squeezes his eyes shut, forcing his shoulders to relax a little. Once he’s sure he doesn’t look completely on edge, he goes over to the door and pulls it open, smiling warmly at Shouto. 

“I hope it’s okay I’m early. I can come back later if you want,” Shouto offers.

“No, you’re fine, really. Not like I was doing much,” Izuku says, moving out of the way to let Shouto into his room. He watches the other boy subtly look around as he steps in, glancing back at Izuku when he shuts the door. “You can sit anywhere. Just make yourself comfortable.”

Making himself comfortable apparently means sitting on the edge of the bed, his back straight and his bag in his lap. Izuku stares at him for a moment, wondering if this could mean Shouto is nervous as well. Though, he’s not sure what he would be nervous about, considering they’re supposed to just study. It’s not like he could also be experiencing a crush, not the way Izuku is, after knowing him for just a short amount of time. 

While he’s thinking, Shouto opens his bag and pulls out a couple of notebooks. “These are the notes for our classes so far,” he says, holding them out. “Feel free to ask me questions as you copy them,” he adds as Izuku takes the notebooks and sits down at his desk. 

He opens the top notebook to a random page and skims over the in-depth notes that have a basic organizational system of tiering the points of the lesson. “Thank you, Sho- sorry. Thanks, Todoroki,” Izuku says, grimacing at once again stumbling over his name. He looks back down at the notebooks, hoping to distract himself by deciding which one he should start copying first.

“You can call me Shouto.”

Izuku blinks. “Are….are you sure? If it makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to bear it, really. I can call you by your last name. It’s fine. Besides, that’s what’s polite.”

He expects Shouto to agree with him, to say he was just trying to be accommodating of Izuku having come from America, to admit that he would, in fact, prefer to be called Todoroki. 

Shouto doesn’t. Instead, he shakes his head at Izuku and says, “It’s fine. I don’t mind you calling me Shouto.” 

A part of Izuku settles at his response, making relief flood through him while his heart beats a little faster at the thought that Shouto wouldn't say that unless he  _ liked _ Izuku. Even just a little. And that little could grow into more, could become a like that matches the crush Izuku has from watching Shouto fight with ice shining around him in the light of the sun an- wait, he's getting off track.

He glances over at Shouto to see that he's already pulled a book out of his bag and has started to read. It doesn't look like one they've been assigned for any classes, so Izuku doesn't ask about it, not wanting to distract him from something he's reading for fun. Instead, he grabs a pen and blank notebook, opening it to a fresh page before he starts copying Shouto's notes. 

For a while, the only noise in the room is the sound of Izuku's pen scratching on paper and Shouto flipping pages in his book. It's calming and Izuku starts to relax, sitting back in his chair and letting his mind wander as he writes. He's not sure why he was so nervous before over the thought of Shouto being in his room. It's not like the other boy has a loud presence, even if it is one Izuku feels like he's constantly aware of, constantly at the edge of his mind, beckoning for his attention as though he might miss something life-changing if he isn't staring at Shouto all the time. 

"I wanted to ask you something," Shouto suddenly says, breaking the silence as he places his bookmark and closes the book. Izuku hums softly in acknowledgment, figuring it's just going to be something about studying. "Is All Might your father?"

Izuku falters, his hand dragging the pen down the page of his notebook in a line that jaggedly cuts through the notes he's just finished. He blinks, staring mournfully at the page he'll have to redo before his brain catches up once more to what Shouto said. "I-what? No, I'm fairly sure, I mean, why do you even think that?" he asks, looking up at Shouto to see the way he's studying him. It's the same look he had earlier when his mother was explaining the new counselor program. He can feel flowers blooming in his hair but doesn't have the thought to reach up and pluck one out to see what it is. Besides, he already knows they’re likely  begonias by the way his shoulders tense and he gets the inexplicable urge to laugh at the suggestion.

"It's something I've noticed lately. You tend to glow when you use your quirk. It's green. Your mother glowed as well when she talked to us in class," Shouto says, setting his book down on the bed next to him. "All Might does, too. Though, his glow is more golden. I hadn't really given much notice to it before. He always glows and the media says he has an aura of strength to him, so it made sense. But three people glowing is too much of a coincidence, so there must be some kind of connection."

The worst part is that his logic is sound. If it had been crazy, unfounded with no possible way of getting corroboration from somebody else, then maybe Izuku would have had a better time disputing it. Fuck. Izuku starts to speak, stops, tries again, and finally just closes his mouth. He really isn't sure what to say.

Shouto seems to take this to mean he's right, his eyes softening slightly. "I won't tell anyone if that's what you're worried about," he says. 

"It's not. Because All Might isn't my father. I'm just….trying to figure out how to explain the glow you're seeing," Izuku explains. 

"There's a reason beyond genetic relation?"

"Technically, it's still because of genetic relation," Izuku mutters, leaning back in his chair as he thinks about certain gods with an inability to keep it in their pants for longer than a year. He glances up at Shouto, the expectant look on his face snapping Izuku’s mind back to the issue at hand. 

He hasn't actually known Shouto that long, but he's sure this is a secret he'll be able to keep. If he can see through the Mist, a fact Izuku is now convinced of beyond a shadow of a doubt, then he's probably seen weird things all his life. The fact that he didn't just come right out and ask if Izuku is a demigod, though, means that he doesn't know about the existence of them. He's still ignorant of the world coexisting with that of quirks, something Izuku doesn't know if he should change or not. On the one hand, it might prove to be overwhelming. On the other, it could give Shouto some ease in knowing the weird things he's seen have an explanation.

Maybe he should ease into the reveal. Test the waters a bit to see if Shouto would be likely to accept the truth or not. Though, he’s not sure how to do that. “Have you ever read Greek mythology? You know, Hera, Athena, Zeus, those myths?” he asks. 

“Yes, but I don’t see how that relates to my question.”

Izuku tries to think of another question that could slowly lead to the big reveal but comes up empty. It turns out ripping off the metaphorical band-aid is probably going to be his best bet. He can’t think of anything better, at least. “Okay. They’re real. All the myths, the stories, the gods and the monsters and the titans. All real,” he says.

Shouto is quiet for a moment, his expression unchanging. “You don’t have to lie if you don’t want to tell me the truth. Just say so.”

“But it  _ is _ the truth. What could convince you?”

He regrets asking the question the moment it’s left his mouth, settling in the air between him and Shouto as it waits to be acknowledged. Proving the truth is rather difficult. As much as the existence of quirks makes it easy for demigods to blend in with the rest of society, it also makes it nearly impossible to tell what’s a quirk and what’s godly powers.  _ Anything _ can be passed off as a quirk, something most demigods and some minor deities use to their advantage when it comes to being around normal people. 

“Explain it to me,” Shouto finally says. He looks unconvinced that Izuku could, has crossed his arms and seems to be hunching in on himself just slightly. It takes a second for Izuku to realize that he looks a little like a flower closing to protect itself from danger.

He’ll open again once he sees that Izuku isn’t lying. Explaining is easy; he can do this. “Okay, I’m a demigod. My mom is a goddess and my father was just a normal person. His quirk was that he could breathe fire. Obviously, I don’t have that quirk. In fact, I don’t have a quirk at all. What I have is more like godly power, something I inherited from my mother. She has dominion over Renewal. She can feel and manipulate the energy of every living thing, whereas I can only feel and manipulate the energy of plants.”

It’s definitely a shortened version of the explanation he gave to Katsuki, but it will have to work for now. He can go more in-depth later if Shouto wants him to. He waits for a reaction, feeling his heart sink a little when what he gets is a frown. “It sounds like a stretch,” Shouto says.

Izuku bites at the inside of his cheek, feeling himself get frustrated over not knowing how to prove that he isn’t trying to trick Shouto into believing some elaborate lie. A begonia falls to the desk and he runs his hand through his hair without thinking, picking out the rest that have come loose because they’re being replaced by a new emotion. One of the flowers he pulls out is a pinkish-purple instead of the bright red of the begonias, and Izuku sighs at the return of the  petunias .

“I’m not really sure how to convince you,” he admits, looking up at Shouto. The other boy is staring at the flowers in his hand. It’s hard to tell what he’s thinking, but Izuku thinks he looks puzzled, like he’s trying to figure something out and the flowers are the hint he desperately needs to understand to solve the problem. “Shouto?”

His eyes quickly look away from the flowers, meeting Izuku’s with a frown once more. “It isn’t a quirk?” Shouto asks, waiting for a nod before he continues, “Aizawa can erase quirks. If you can still use it while he’s using his quirk on you, then I’d believe you.”

That would mean bringing one more person in on the secret. Izuku has probably already been pushing his luck by telling Shouto without consulting his mom. Telling Aizawa as well could put him in an even deeper hole. Then again, if this is the only way for Shouto to believe him, he’s sure his mom would understand.

“And that’s the only way you’ll believe me?” he asks.

Izuku’s decision is made when Shouto nods. 

* * *

Needless to say, Aizawa is less than pleased to have students knocking on his door late at night. He glares down at them and Izuku has to fight back the urge to apologize and say they’ll come back in the morning. Instead, he clears his throat nervously and says, “I need you to use your quirk on me. I promise I’ll explain why later, but please?”

For a moment, he thinks Aizawa is going to close the door in their faces, and can’t help the slight surprise when the teacher just sighs and nods. “Fine. Right now?” he asks. 

Izuku quickly pulls a seed out of his pocket, cupping it in his palms before nodding. He watches Aizawa’s eyes turn red and fidgets at the feeling of something tugging at his center. It’s like there’s a door that’s trying to be pulled open, only to be stopped by something else holding it firmly shut. If he tried, Izuku could probably let Aizawa cancel out his powers, but he’s too nervous about what that might actually do to him.

His powers are part of him, something rooted in the very marrow of his bones, clinging tightly and unyielding. To take them away would be to cancel out the part of Izuku that comes from his mother, to cancel out half of his very being. He can’t imagine that it would be a particularly pleasant experience. Part of him does wonder how it might feel, though. Would he be unable to breathe? Would he feel a gaping hole where his, for lack of a better term, divinity once was? Or would it be more like flipping a switch and having half of his being go dark? Turning him into a mortal husk of himself, only able to think about getting the other half of him back, obsessed with what he’s lost?

A gentle touch to his arm pulls Izuku out of his head, encouraging him to blink away the thoughts weighing on his mind as Aizawa’s quirk continues to pull at him. He grimaces at the feeling but looks down at the seed, focusing on the energy buried within it, waiting for the conditions of growth to be met. Izuku smiles softly at the seed, gently tugging on that energy, feeding it some of his own and encouraging the seed to break open, a small sprout growing into a singular  tulip .

Suddenly, that tugging is gone, it’s absence just as noticeable as its presence. Izuku looks up from the tulip to see Shouto’s widened eyes and that Aizawa somehow looks more exhausted than he did before. “I can’t believe you told another one,” the teacher mutters, leaning against the doorframe with a sigh.

“Another?” Izuku asks. Does that mean he already knows about Izuku telling Katsuki? Or is he talking about some other person at the school that’s been let in on the godly secret? Maybe it’s a member of staff? He wouldn’t be too surprised if his mother had to inform Principal Nezu during her interview. Though, he’s fairly sure she would have told him that if she did.

“You already knew about this?” Shouto asks before he can, finally tearing his eyes away from the tulip. “Wait, does this mean All Might is a god?”

“Demigod,” Aizawa replies, letting his head fall against the doorframe as well. “Midoriya should be able to answer all your questions, so ask him. I’m going back to sleep.” With that, he steps back and shuts the door, the audible clicking of the lock following shortly after.

Izuku sighs softly and looks down at the tulip, gently encouraging its roots to wrap around his wrist so he won’t have to keep holding it. “We can head back to my room now if you wanted to. I mean, I know this is kind of a lot to take in.”

“Do you know why I’m seeing that aura around you, then?”

That….isn’t what Izuku was expecting him to ask. He looks up at Shouto, studying him for a long moment before nodding. “Yeah, c’mon,” he says, starting back towards his room, glancing over at Shouto with a slight smile. He doesn’t look upset, more curious. “So, part of how the gods remain a secret is this thing called the Mist. It makes those unrelated to the gods unable to see us. For example, the Mist would give a cyclops two eyes.”

“Is that what I’m seeing? The Mist?” Shouto asks. 

“Not quite. You’re seeing through it. My daggers, for example. You saw them as blades, but everyone else sees them as rulers. That’s the Mist working to make them seem innocuous,” he explains. 

For a moment, Shouto seems to just process this information, looking away from him and making it impossible to see what he might be thinking. It makes Izuku’s stomach twist uncomfortably and he looks down at the tulip wrapped around his wrist, brushing his thumb against one of the petals in the hopes that it will calm him down. The tulip, for its part, feels supportive, if not a bit confused. 

Finally, he hears Shouto ask, “Is there a reason I can see through it?”

“Well, not really? I mean, I’m not sure, to be honest. There’s one other person I know of that could see through the Mist, but I’ve never actually met her and Percy doesn’t talk about her very much. I could probably speculate, though, if you wanted to hear that?”

“Might as well.”

Izuku isn’t sure how to process his tone, can’t tell if he’s bored, or trying to comprehend everything, or somehow upset and thinking that he’s been dragged into this weirdness by Izuku. “I mean, you don’t have to agree. It’s a lot, I know. And if you’d prefer to just talk about this later, then I’d understand. You just discovered there’s basically this whole other society living alongside your own and that mythology is actually  _ real _ and I know that can be a lot. So, we don’t have to continue now if you think you’d like to sleep on it, instead. I’ll still be here in the morning and still willing to talk about it. Though, I guess if you’d prefer not to talk to me, you could ask Kacchan. He sort of knows since I told him my first day here. Maybe you’d be more comfortable asking him about this stuff if you feel weird around me now. And I wouldn’t be offended or anyth-”

A hand over his mouth makes him blink, the words dying in his throat as he looks up at Shouto. They’ve stopped just outside the dorm and it’s hard to see his expression when the lights from the building are creating a halo around his head. As much as Izuku shouldn’t be thinking about it, he can’t seem to pull his focus away from the stray hairs falling out of Shouto’s bun and framing his face. He has the urge to reach up and tuck them behind his ear, having to push it down by reminding himself that doing so would be weird. 

“Izuku, please listen carefully,” Shouto says. 

Oh, right, there’s a reason they’re standing like this right now. He nods, glancing down at Shouto’s hand when he slowly pulls it away. It’s good that he’s still calling him by his first name, though, right? That means he can’t be too weirded out by this. Or, at the very least, isn’t about to ignore Izuku. 

He takes a deep breath and pulls back, looking away as he says, “You’re right, this is a lot. But it makes sense, I guess. Maybe we can save your speculations for later, though. For now, I’d like to actually study, like we planned.”

“Yeah, okay, um, right. We can just go study again,” Izuku says softly, holding his hands together so he won’t give in to the urge to fix Shouto’s hair. It looks really soft, though, and he wonders if Shouto would ever let him braid flowers into it. 

A soft smile quickly distracts him from those thoughts as he stares with wide eyes. Is it weird for his heart to be racing over someone he doesn’t really know yet? This has to be normal for a crush, right? It can’t be weird. Of course, not. Izuku thinks anyone would get flustered and warm all over in the face of a rare smile that seems to make Shouto light up and soften all at the same time.

“There are flowers in your hair again,” Shouto says suddenly, reaching out and gently plucking one. Izuku stares at the  sakura for a moment before looking from it to Shouto. “Does it mean anything?”

It does, of course. But that’s not something he can actually tell Shouto, not when his flowers give him away so easily, not when he knows the  sakura means he feels affection because of Shouto’s smile. Izuku has probably been lucky so far, considering there doesn’t appear to be anyone in the class that understands flower meanings, but that luck could run out very quickly if one of them decides to pick up any decent guide.

“Um, it just means I feel happy right now,” Izuku finally replies, relieved to see that Shouto accepts the answer with a slight nod. “We should go in now.”

He quickly moves towards the door, holding it open only for Shouto to reach above him and grab the door, nodding for Izuku to go first. He flushes slightly and ducks under Shouto’s arm, listening as he follows and shuts the door behind them. “Is there any subject you’d like to focus on?” Shouto asks. 

Talking about school is much easier than thinking about how his shoulder brushes against Shouto’s as they walk. “Um, maybe math. We could work on English after, if you wanted,” he offers, hearing a hum of agreement as they get onto the elevator.

It doesn’t at all escape his notice that Shouto hasn’t given the flower back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flower Guide:  
> Begonias- Caution  
> Petunia- Frustration  
> Sakura- Affection  
> Tulip- Hopeless love


	7. Chapter 7

It’s not that Shouto is avoiding Izuku. That would be slightly impossible considering they go to school together, have the same class schedule, live in the same dorm building. It’s just that he’s taking time to fully process everything. And maybe the amount of time so far has been almost three days. Three days in which he hasn’t done more than make painful small-talk whenever Izuku greets him in the morning or says good night. Three days in which he buys several books on Greek mythology as well as a few books on flower language. Three days in which he sits in his room and wonders about the fact that apparently sakura flowers- one of which has been on his desk ever since he got back from their study session- can mean affection and daisies can mean hope or excitement and sunflowers absolutely mean happiness.

But he isn’t avoiding Izuku, despite the fact that Momo and her incredibly obvious looks are clearly trying to imply otherwise.

At least, that’s the truth he’s convinced himself of until the fourth day of pouring over Greek mythology and flower language comes to an end with Bakugou knocking on his door and, when Shouto opens it, telling him, “Could you stop being such a fucking coward and talk to Hana already? I’m tired of him keeping me the fuck up with his nervous texts.”

“I have talked to him,” Shouto replies, leaving the door open as he goes back to his desk since Bakugou would just come in anyway. 

He hears it shut as he sits, turning in his chair to see Bakugou leaning against the now-closed door, his arms crossed over his chest. “I don’t mean small talk, IcyHot. Have an actual fucking conversation in which you talk about all this demigod shit.”

Oh, right. Izuku had said that Bakugou was in on the secret, that he’d told him the day he transferred into the class, even. Maybe he feels a little bit better knowing there’s someone else he can talk to about this that isn’t directly involved like Izuku and his mother. Though, Shouto wonders if having Bakugou as the only person to talk to is even worth it, considering how brash his answers might be and how much Shouto might have to think them over to figure out what’s really being said. 

That might just be something he has to deal with, though. 

“Can I ask you something?” 

“I can’t stop you.”

Shouto frowns a little at the answer but doesn’t comment on it. “When Izuku uses his powers, do you ever see a green glow around him?”

“No.”

“Not even when you were kids?”

“No, I didn’t when we were kids, either. His power was weak as shit back then, though. Could barely get a single sunflower to sprout in his hair,” Bakugou explains, shrugging slightly. Then he pauses, frowning slightly and letting his head fall back against the wall with an audible  _ thunk.  _ “I mean, he controlled a tree root this one time, but even that wasn’t strong enough to actually do anything. Either way, he got stronger in America, obviously, or he wouldn’t have gotten into this school.”

“Obviously,” Shouto murmurs, looking back down at his open books. The mythology one is open to a story about the origin of narcissus flowers while one of the flower guides is open to the edelweiss entry. Apparently, edelweiss can mean courage or power, depending on the context. He hasn’t seen it in Izuku’s hair yet, he thinks. “The flowers mean things, right?”

Bakugou huffs in response and when Shouto looks up, he seems almost hesitant to answer, his frown turned into a scowl and his shoulders hunched slightly as though debating with himself. Finally, he says, “Yeah, they represent whatever Hana is feeling when they bloom. Those pink ones in his hair on his first day apparently meant anticipation or some shit.”

Okay, anticipation would make sense, he supposes. If he’s remembering correctly, there were also tiny white flowers that bloomed, Christmas roses, according to his book, which meant he was anxious. Entering a new school, having to meet new people and be reunited with a childhood friend as explosively emotional as Bakugou means that flower makes sense, too. 

“Are you going to ask me anything about the demigod shit? Or are we just going to stand here and talk about Hana’s fucking emotional giveaways?” Bakugou asks. 

Shouto sighs, marking his page in the flower guide and closing it. “Izuku said his father was just a normal person while his mother is a goddess. How does that work?”

“They fucked.”

He doesn’t know why he expected anything else. 

“I figured that much. I mean, how do the genetics of that work? Was there any doubt of Izuku being a demigod or was there a chance he’d be normal and have his father’s quirk.”

Bakugou rolls his eyes, pushing off the wall and going over to the bookcase. He looks over the items on the shelves as he says, “I’m not the one that knows all that shit. Hana is. So grow a pair and go fucking talk to him.”

It’s not like Shouto doesn’t want to talk to Izuku. It’s just that he isn’t even sure how to approach him after this reveal. Izuku isn’t normal, he’s literally  _ divine,  _ so much more than Shouto could ever hope to be. He’s so far above Shouto’s league at this point that the only accurate metaphor would place him in Olympus.

“Gods, I can feel you angsting all the way over here,” Bakugou says, looking over at Shouto. He studies him for a moment before walking over and picking up the flower guide. “There’s no need to be nervous, IcyHot. Hana is still a damn nerd.”

“He is literally part god.”

Bakugou shrugs, flipping through the pages of the guide, eyes skimming over the entries as though looking for one in particular. “He sleeps in All Might pajamas. When we were younger, he used to cry if one of us stepped on a weed. He has the worst taste in Christmas and birthday cards. Put him in a garden and he spaces out for fucking hours. Ask him anything about anything and he probably won’t shut the fuck up. And, for some damn reason, he’s taken a liking to you.”

Oh. Well. Of course, Izuku took a liking to him. They’re friends, Shouto thinks. At least, he hopes they’re still friends after the past few days. He’d understand if they weren’t, though, considering how much Shouto has been avoiding even being alone in a room with him. Izuku seems understanding of it, though, has been keeping his distance despite looking like he wants to say something every time they see each other. 

He sighs as Bakugou finally stops on a page in the guide and gets a grin. As concerning as that is, Shouto decides he doesn’t really want to know. Besides, Bakugou would just tell him anyway if he wanted to. “So should I apologize to start off?” Shouto asks. 

“Fuck if I know. Just go talk to him already. Even if you don’t say anything, Hana will start talking himself.”

Oh. Well, that’s a little bit of a relief to know. If Shouto really can’t think of anything to say, Izuku will just get the conversation started for him. “Thanks, I guess,” he replies. 

“You could just confess if you’re really that desperate for something to say.”

“....confess?”

“Yes, confess. Tell him you wanna hold hands or something.”

Shouto blinks, staring at his classmate for a few seconds and trying to figure out if he’s actually serious about this. “That would just make Izuku uncomfortable. So, no,” he replies. As much as he’d like for a confession to be on the list of things he could do, it just isn’t realistic. 

Bakugou rolls his eyes and then sets the book down on the desk so Shouto can see the entry he found. “Gloxinia” is written at the very top of the page in bold letters, several pictures of the purple flower underneath the name. 

“Why?”

“I’ve currently got a deal with Hana and this is fulfilling my end. That’s the flower he had in his hair after seeing you his first day here. You’re supposedly smart, so connect the damn dots.”

He doesn’t give Shouto a chance to say anything else before leaving the room, closing the door behind him harder than he should. Shouto sighs and looks back down at the flower guide, staring at the gloxinia pictures. 

The flower is pretty, sure, and he had wondered what they meant when he saw Izuku hurriedly pulling them out of his hair, but he never thought to ask. Maybe it has something to do with Bakugou telling him to confess. He has the fleeting thought that reading the description could be a slight invasion of Izuku’s privacy but, well, he’s already this far, has already read about the other flowers he’s seen. 

Shouto frowns slightly and looks down the page, skimming over the description of what they’re supposed to mean. 

* * *

Now that Shouto actually wants to talk to Izuku, he suddenly can’t find him. He’s checked his room, the lounge area, the kitchen, the courtyards, and even the classroom, but nothing. Standing outside the door to the counselors’ offices is his last-ditch effort. 

The description of the gloxinias keeps bouncing around his mind, and he just wants to ask Izuku if it’s true. Love is….a lot, almost overwhelmingly so, but he’s also learned that sometimes flowers don’t always mean  _ exactly _ what they’re supposed to. Sometimes, they just mean something close to the truth, so maybe it isn’t love but it is like. 

Shouto takes a deep breath and knocks twice on the door. He only gets a few seconds to brace himself before the door is opening and he’s face-to-face with Inko. Now that he knows she’s a goddess, the green glow around her and the general otherness of her presence makes a lot of sense. Before, he just figured it was part of her quirk. 

“Oh, good afternoon, Shouto. Is there something you need?” she asks. 

“Do you happen to know where Izuku is?”

Inko pauses and gets a slight smile. “He just left for the dorms a bit ago. Now that you’re here, though, why don’t you come in for a few minutes?” she asks. 

Is he allowed to say no to a goddess? All his reading on Greek mythology says he really shouldn’t, but Inko doesn’t seem like the kind of deity to punish someone for not doing as she asks. Still, it would be rude either way.

He steps through the door when Inko holds it open wider, taking a look around the small waiting room. There’s a desk for a secretary and several comfortable-looking couches and chairs for people to wait on. Inko leads him down a hallway behind the secretary’s desk, two doors on each side and one at the very end, which has a small plaque with her name written on it. 

“Just take a seat wherever you’d like,” she says as she lets him into the room. There are a couch and two chairs, and Shouto knows he doesn’t want to be on the couch, so he takes the chair closest to the door. “I was going to call you in later this week, so I guess this works out pretty well.”

Shouto nods once, watching as Inko sits in her own chair and relaxes into it. “What did you want to discuss?”

“Just your general well being. I have the feeling you’d rather talk about something else, though,” she replies. 

For a few seconds, the room is silent as Shouto tries to figure out if she means him knowing about demigods or if she somehow knows he has a crush on her son. “How does it work? Being a goddess?” he finally asks. That’s probably a safer subject to discuss.

The look Inko gets tells him that she’s entirely aware of what he’s avoiding. But she doesn’t call him on it. Instead, Inko leans back in her seat and hums softly in thought. “Well, belief is a big thing for us gods. As long as people continue to believe in us, in any way, then we continue to exist. Demigods can come in handy for that, I think. It’s easy to believe in something that’s your parent.”

“Is that the only reason you have kids?”

“No, well, I think some gods do, but I didn’t. I had Izuku because I fell in love with his father and wanted a family with him.”

Shouto nods once and considers her answer. He didn’t think he’d be discussing any of this with Inko, but she’s probably one of the most knowledgeable people on the situation. Though, maybe the most understanding person would have been Izuku’s father. “How did Izuku’s father react when he found out?” he asks. 

He can practically hear Momo’s voice in his head, telling him that the question could be seen as rude to ask, when he sees the way Inko’s shoulders slump just a little. Shouto is about to take it back, about to tell her that she doesn’t need to answer, when she gets a soft smile. 

Oh. Inko doesn’t look upset like he initially thought. It’s more like she’s reminiscing, getting a fond smile. “He fainted. And then, after he finally came to, he told me it made sense that I was divine. He also tried to tell me he wasn’t worthy, but I shut that idea down almost immediately. It was my choice, I got to decide who was worthy and who wasn’t and Hisashi was,” she explains. 

“Did he have questions?” Shouto asks. 

“He had so many,” Inko replies. “Mostly about my powers, a few about my parents, and why I was in Japan in the first place. All in all, Hisashi was very accepting of me and the new world he learned about.”

“Was….Hisashi….able to see through the Mist? Izuku said I could, and that’s why I’m able to see the green aura around you.”

Inko shakes her head with a slight smile. “No, Hisashi couldn’t unless I pointed something out to him. I’m not entirely sure why you can see through. Though, if one of your parents was a legacy, then that might explain it.”

“A legacy?”

“The child or grandchild of a demigod. Still connected to the godly lineage, but far enough removed that the only traces might be found in a very powerful quirk or, in this case, the ability to see through the Mist. Then again, it could be something we can’t explain. Either way, I would consider it a gift.”

Shouto isn’t really sure he’d go that far. “Is the Mist really needed anymore? If it’s to keep people from standing out, there isn’t much that a quirk can’t explain,” he points out. 

“The Mist has always been here and always will be. At this point, it’s more for comfort than actual safety.”

He still doesn’t quite understand it, but maybe he shouldn’t question the habits of supernatural forces very much. It might be something he comes to regret later on. “Okay, well, I don’t have any other questions,” he says, idly tucking a lock of white hair behind his ear just to give his hand something to do for a moment.

Inko just smiles slightly. “Did you happen to pick up a guide on flower meanings?” she suddenly asks. 

“Yes.”

“Good, good. Izuku tends to forget that sometimes he needs to verbalize his feelings when people around him don’t understand what flowers mean. But having the guide will genuinely help you out, I think. Communication, in general, is very important, as well. Even if things are hard to say, you should try to find a way to say them.”

Somehow, Shouto feels as though this conversation has veered into the territory of relationship advice, which is a little concerning since he didn’t even tell Inko that he likes her son. Then again, she is a goddess. Maybe she can just sense or see things like that. Or maybe he’s just not very subtle, considering both Momo and Bakugou were able to pick up on the fact that he was already a little smitten with Izuku. He should work on his poker face.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he says, standing up from the chair and walking over to the door. Inko beats him to it, holding the door open with a warm smile. “You said Izuku had gone back to the dorms, right?”

She nods once. “Yes, that’s what he told me, at least.”

Inko walks him all the way to the main door that leads into the hallway. “Right, thank you for the advice. And answering my questions.”

“Of course, Shouto. Feel free to come by whenever you need help or just want to talk.”

Shouto nods, feeling like he can’t get out of the office fast enough once she opens the door. As nice as Inko is, and as weirdly calming, he somehow feels a bit better after leaving the offices. Maybe it’s because his questions are answered. Or because, if she knows about his feelings, she somehow approves of them.

Either way, it’s not something Shouto is going to dwell on right now. Instead, he’s going to focus on finding Izuku so he can finally talk to him. 


	8. Chapter 8

Sometimes, when Izuku is feeling particularly stressed out, he can’t handle being inside. It just puts him more on edge. Instead, he needs to surround himself with nature, retreat into some trees and not come back out until he’s calm. That was easy to do at Camp Half-Blood. At U.A.? Not so much. 

The closest thing he can find is the sakura tree outside the dorms and Izuku is desperate enough that he starts to climb up it. He pulls himself to a sturdy looking branch and lets out a slow breath, leaning back against the trunk and closing his eyes. Trees always feel sturdy, old and unwavering, something easy to lean on, which is why he turns to them in times of stress. 

This tree is younger than the ones at Camp Half-Blood. It’s still sturdy and reliable, but has some feeling of excitement and curiosity about things. Izuku looks up at the branches above him. He places a hand on the trunk, gently encouraging the tree to bloom out of season, getting a smile when the pink flowers start to bud and blossom. The sweet scent of the flowers helps Izuku relax back against the trunk, his eyes slipping shut as he focuses on his breathing and the plants around him. 

After talking to his mother, he feels like he finally can relax. According to her, the manticore had been taken care of years ago by All Might. There’s no need to be worried about having to see it, having to relive that day. It’s a relief. He knows that relaxing isn’t going to be that simple, that he’s still going to be paranoid over other monsters, but he can at least take today to breathe a little easier.

His shoulders are finally starting to unwind when he hears someone walk up to the tree, their steps disturbing the grass. Izuku opens his eyes and looks down at the ground, frowning slightly until he sees that Shouto is the one looking up at him. They stare at each other for a moment before Izuku swings his legs over to one side of the branch so he’s turned towards Shouto. 

“Hey.”

“Can we talk?” Shouto asks. 

Words feel a bit difficult right now, something Izuku isn’t exactly used to, so he just nods. All his mind can think of is the numerous ways Shouto could be planning to tell him that he can’t quite accept the existence of gods. It shouldn’t matter as much as it does, but Izuku can’t help feeling anxious after telling another person about the secret. 

Shouto nods once and looks at the lower hanging branches. He frowns slightly and reaches into his pocket, taking out a hairband and then pulling his hair back into a loose ponytail. Then he grabs onto the lowest branch and pulls himself up before Izuku has the chance to tell him that he doesn’t need to. 

“You can stay there, Shouto. I don’t mind coming down,” he says as Shouto climbs up to the next branch. 

“No, it’s fine. Just give me a second.” Izuku shuts his mouth, watching as Shouto makes his way to the branch across from him. He takes a moment to catch his breath, leaning against the trunk and looking back down at the ground. “I haven’t climbed a tree before.”

Izuku can’t help getting a soft smile as he leans forward slightly. “No? It gets easier the more you do it. I think the more dangerous part is actually climbing down,” he says. 

“Fantastic.”

He doesn’t say anything more and Izuku leans away again, looking down at his lap and fidgeting slightly. As hard as he tries, he just can’t think of anything to say. “Can you control what flowers bloom?” Shouto asks, breaking the silence before it has a chance to settle over them. 

“Do you mean in my hair?” he asks, waiting for the affirmative hum before continuing, “I can, but I have to focus on what flowers I want.”

What’s the point of the question? Izuku would much rather talk about what Shouto thinks of the demigod thing. Maybe he’d also like to ask why it took so long to want to talk about it. Then again, the longer they put it off, the longer Izuku can pretend that everything is perfectly normal. He doesn’t have to think about what Shouto is going to say, about whether or not he’d like to continue being friends. If he found out about the dangers of being around a demigod, Izuku can’t really blame him for wanting to keep his distance. 

“I picked up a flower guide when I got books on mythology,” Shouto says. He moves then, shaking the tree and causing a few leaves to come loose and drift towards the ground. Izuku reaches out, catching one in his hand, nervously rubbing his thumb over the surface of it. When he looks back up, Shouto has his back to the trunk and his legs hanging on either side of the branch. 

If he has a flower guide now, then Shouto must know, right? As much as Izuku had agreed to Kacchan’s deal, he didn’t plan to actually push anything until after he and Shouto had spent more time getting to know each other. Relationships have to be founded on more than just being attracted to someone, right? A plant needs more than just sunlight to grow and relationships are the same. He can’t say any of that, though, so he just settles on, “Oh.”

Shouto sighs and looks over at him. “Where should I start, Izuku? The flowers or the demigod thing?” he asks. 

Being given a choice is almost worse. “The demigod thing might be better, I think,” he replies. 

Shouto nods once in understanding. “It’s weird. But, considering all the things that are possible with quirks, it’s easy to accept.”

The words are beyond relieving to hear. Izuku can feel how shakey his smile is, can tell how it and the lisianthus in his hair give away everything he’s feeling. That’s not such a bad thing, though, not when Shouto himself looks a little relieved as well.

It feels easier to talk now that he knows Shouto accepts it. “Did you have any questions?” he asks. 

“Are all gods like your mother?’

“Oh, no, definitely not. I’ve met a handful and they’re all different. Dionysus is grumpy all the time, mostly because he isn’t allowed to drink and is always around demigods. Apparently he’s a bit of a wild card when his powers aren’t capped, though. I’ve also met Hades and Persephone, since they’re technically my grandparents. Oh, and Demeter. She and Persephone can be really scary. Hades dresses kind of like a 90s grunge rocker and is a bit of a dick but only when he and Persephone are arguing. Persephone is usually right, by the way. Sometimes it can feel a bit like Mom is more mature than them. Though, that’s the case with most gods, I think. More people believe in her than they do the others, which might also be part of it.”

Izuku realizes then that he might be talking too much and quickly shuts his mouth, hearing what might be a soft laugh from Shouto when he does. At least that must mean he doesn’t find the rambling annoying, right? “Sorry, that was probably more of an answer than you wanted.”

“That’s fine. How does that work, though? More people believing in your mother, I mean.”

This one is a little harder to explain. Izuku frowns slightly, thinking through the wording in the hopes of making it easier to understand. “Well, they don’t necessarily have to believe she’s a goddess. They just have to have faith that she can perform her godly duties. For Mom, she keeps balance and resets things, for lack of a better word. Her duty is to renew the earth and the living beings year-round. Because of that, she tends to energize the people around her without trying. They assume it’s her quirk and then believe she can do it again whenever it’s needed. It’s a little bit of a workaround from people believing in her as a goddess, yes, but it still counts enough for her to technically be more powerful than deities considered to be just myths.”

He looks up to see Shouto nodding along to his explanation, feeling relieved at being able to explain it in a way he can understand. “Right, okay, so did you have other questions about that? Or about your being able to see through the Mist?” he asks. 

“Your mother explained the Mist to me. At least, she explained some of it and gave me a possible reason why I can see through it. I doubt either of my parents are legacies, though. For now, I can accept that it’s just something I can do,” Shouto says. He’s quiet for a moment, looking up at the flowers that shouldn’t be blooming yet. “Can we talk about the flowers now?”

Izuku subtly wipes his palms on his jeans and nods. “Right. The flowers. So, what did you find out, exactly, when you picked up the flower guide? I mean, what did you want to talk about in regards to them? Their meaning, maybe? Or, um, something else, I guess.”

“I know what they mean,” Shouto tells him. 

Oh. He’s not sure if he should be relieved about that or not. At least he doesn’t have to explain any of them, hopefully. “Okay, so, what….what do you think? I mean, you don’t need to think anything, of course. I’d understand if you just don’t feel the same or if it’s off-putting and I wouldn’t blame you for that.”

He squeezes the leaf in his hand, using it to ground himself so he doesn’t go off on a rambling tangent. Across from him, Shouto is watching him closely before moving again so they’re facing each other. “I have questions about them.”

“Okay.”

“Do they mean exactly what the guidebook says? Would gloxinia for you actually mean love at first sight?”

Izuku can feel his cheeks burning as he looks down, far too aware of the peonies now budding in his hair, and shakes his head. “No, um, not exactly. Flowers mean a lot of things, but they don’t cover everything. So, well, sometimes it’s more like the flower that blooms is just the closest thing to the emotion I’m feeling in that moment. Right now it’s peonies, right? Those technically can mean bashfulness, which is as close to embarrassment as I can get. At least, I think that’s what it is. For the gloxinia, then, it’s less love and more….like, I think. And, well, it technically wasn’t my first time seeing you, either. I’ve watched the sports festivals. So, I’ve seen you before. I think gloxinia was just as close a flower as I could get.”

He glances up to see Shouto nodding slowly. Okay, he’s not immediately rejecting Izuku, so that’s good. Thinking is better than immediately knowing the answer, right? He’ll take it for now, at least. It’s really weird, either way, having to explain how his flowers work. His mother usually just knows and the others at camp would just catch the meanings as they got to know him. 

“I wouldn’t mind giving this a try,” Shouto finally says. 

Izuku blinks, his mind coming to a halt as it tries to process the words. “You….you wouldn’t? You’re sure?” he asks. 

“Yes.”

This is what he wanted, right? Isn’t this exact scenario what he was hoping for? Why does part of him feel scared? He should be ecstatic, should be jumping for joy and excitedly asking what Shouto would like to do as a first date, should be grabbing hold of this opportunity with the reckless abandon most demigods are known for. But he isn’t. 

Instead, Izuku bites his lip and looks away, feeling peonies fall to his shoulders while Christmas roses take their place. “It’s not that I’m not happy, because I am. It’s just….being around me can be really dangerous. You could get really hurt,” he says. 

“I haven’t yet.”

“Well, no, but what about when we go outside the school’s walls? I mean, monsters will just be attracted to me no matter what. I’ve been trained to handle them, but you could still get hurt by them and I don’t want that to happen to you.”

Shouto frowns and leans forward slightly. “Is there enough room on your branch for me?” he asks. When Izuku slowly nods, the confusion clear on his face, Shouto carefully moves over to his branch, straddling it so they’re facing each other. He takes a deep breath and holds up his left hand, a small flame forming in his palm. Izuku stares at it, highly aware of the way the tree is filling with anxiety and the desire to throw Shouto to the ground before it can be burned. 

“Why are you showing me this?” Izuku asks. 

“Because this is part of my quirk. Fire that could burn this tree to ashes and could hurt you more than it might others. If we’re going to talk about the dangers of being around each other, then this is one of them for you,” he explains. 

That’s ridiculous, though. The fire is something Shouto can control. Izuku doesn’t have any power over whether or not monsters show up. Instead, he just has to live with the constant paranoia always hovering in the back of his mind, making his hairs stand on end at the slightest movement he isn’t expecting. 

Izuku frowns slightly and gently wraps his fingers around Shouto’s wrist. The flame immediately dies down, almost gone entirely. “It’s different. This fire is part of you, half of your being the same way plants are half of mine. You control it, you tell it what to do, you keep it in check. It’s _your_ power. I trust you to not burn me with it. Monsters aren’t mine. I can’t control them. They won’t listen to me. They would hurt you without a second thought.” 

“Are you forgetting that I’m in the hero course with you? I think I can handle monsters.”

Part of Izuku wants to argue, wants to ask if Shouto really thinks he could handle facing down a being whose whole purpose in that moment is destroying you beyond repair, if he really thinks he could hold his own against a mythical creature that won’t be pulling any punches. But he doesn’t. He swallows those questions, pushes them deep down so they won’t make another appearance. 

“Monsters are different. You’ve been training to fight villains. There’s really no comparing them. I just….I’m really worried about you getting hurt because you’re around me when a monster happens to show up.”

The tiny flame dies completely now and Shouto takes Izuku’s hand. “Then I trust you to keep me safe if that does happen. It hasn’t yet, though. So we can’t say anything definitively until it does,” he points out. 

Izuku closes his eyes, taking a deep breath and trying to calm himself down a little. It helps that the tree has calmed down significantly with the lack of fire. He looks back up at Shouto, considering his words for a moment.

Even if he wasn’t trained to fight monsters, Shouto is still among the class’ top-ranking students, still considered to have the strongest quirk among the second year, still considered a formidable opponent overall. It should be easy for him to at least hold his own, right? He won’t be helpless against monsters, at the very least. Though, there’s no guarantee he’d be able to win against one, either. Even with a strong quirk, it would take a demigod to bring a monster down.

He’s starting to get off track, though. Izuku pulls his mind back to the situation at hand. As scared as he is, that’s just even more of a sign that he should go for this. His life might be too short to let this pass him by. So, he slowly nods, flashing Shouto a smile as daisies push out the Christmas roses, giving him the fleeting thought that he’s gone through a lot of emotions in the past few minutes. 

“Okay,” he says, “I think we should give it a try. At least, you know, keep the idea in mind and go on a date or two.” 

The smile he gets in return from Shouto is enough to leave Izuku absolutely certain that he made the right choice. It’s not a big one, not by a long shot, but it’s warm anyway and does wonders to help ease some of his nerves. 

* * *

It’s not that they meant to keep the date a secret. It just kind of happened that way. They’d agreed not to mention it unless somebody asked, if only because Izuku didn’t want to be bombarded with attention from their classmates when he’d rather focus on making sure this is a relationship that can work. Well, maybe work isn’t quite the right word for it. He’d like to make sure this relationship is safe for Shouto, one that won’t immediately put him in harm’s way.

Still, the only person he decides to tell outright, other than his mother, is Katsuki. Even then, it’s only because he knows his friend would still try to set them up if he didn’t already know. 

Izuku frowns at the door in front of him, gaze sliding over to the plaque next to it with Katsuki’s name on it as though he somehow ended up at the wrong room. He huffs softly and just knocks on the door, barely getting a chance to step back before it’s yanked open and Katsuki is frowning at him. 

“What?” he asks. 

Izuku just smiles and nudges Katsuki back into the room, following after him and plopping down on the bed. “I have good news. Also, you answered the door really quickly. Were you waiting for someone else?”

“No. And just tell me the news already so you can go and I can finish cleaning.”

Now that he’s mentioned it, the room does look a little messier than he expected. Izuku hums, looking around and noting the sorted laundry by one wall and the stacks of books on the desk so the bookshelf can be cleared. “Yeah, okay, Shouto and I are going on a date. We didn’t really say when, though, or where.” When he doesn’t get an immediate response, Izuku frowns and looks over at Katsuki. “I thought you’d be more excited.”

“It’s not a date until you’ve figured that shit out,” Katsuki tells him. 

“That doesn’t sound right. It’s a date. We agreed to go on a date. The word date was used.”

“Stop fucking saying it already, geez. Sure, you agreed to a date, but you don’t have one until you know when and where.”

It still doesn’t sound right but Izuku doesn’t want to bother arguing with Katsuki. He’s too stubborn to ever concede anyway. “Okay, fine. But does it still count as you upholding your end of the deal? Since it seems like he asked me without any help from you.”

Katsuki blinks and looks over. “The fuck do you mean without help from me? I’m the one that showed him the damned true love flower or whatever the fuck in that book of his. I’m also the one that told him to get off his ass and go talk to you.”

“Oh, he didn’t mention that. Then again, it didn’t really come up. Anyway, I guess that means you did uphold your end of the deal, sort of.”

“Damn right I held up my end of the deal. So, we gonna fight now?” Katsuki asks, grinning eagerly. 

“No, not right now. We will later, I promise. I actually came here for advice, really.”

He huffs, glancing at the laundry piles for a moment before looking back to Izuku and waving his hand so he’ll just get on with it. If he didn’t know Katsuki better, he’d probably think that this was a dismissal or he was too annoyed to actually care to listen. 

But he does know better, so Izuku smiles gratefully. “Right, so, I don’t know where we should go on the date. I mean, I don’t really know what’s around here since I haven’t been able to do very much exploring. Is there a good date spot somewhere? Like a cafe or something?” he asks. 

“There’s a mall nearby. Plenty of stuff to do there and they even have this little garden area or some shit near the middle of it,” Katsuki suggests.

It sounds great, really, except for the fact that malls are really public places. There are plenty of people to help mask his scent from monsters but all those people would also be put in danger if a monster does show up. Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last, Izuku finds himself wishing that monsters didn’t exist and didn’t like to chase after demigods. 

But a mall does sound like a good place since he and Shouto could just end up walking around and talking with each other, which sounds really nice. He sighs and runs his fingers through his hair, gently tugging out a geranium and idly rubbing one of the white petals. “The only problem there,” he says, “is that I don’t know how safe it would be for me to be in such a public place.”

“Why the fuck wouldn’t it be?” Katsuki asks. 

“Remember how monsters are attracted to me by my scent? They don’t exactly care if they attack me in a public place or if they hurt normal people. I could be putting the mall in danger if I go,” he explains. An eraser hits the top of his head and falls into his lap, narrowly avoiding landing on the flower. Izuku blinks and picks it up, looking at Katsuki with a slight frown as he tosses it back. 

Katsuki catches it easily, dropping it on the desk. “There haven’t been any reports lately of attacks that could be monsters, right? So don’t worry about it. Just go to the mall and if shit happens, then you’ll use your god powers or whatever to keep people safe. IcyHot isn’t horrible in a fight either, so he’d help, I’m sure.”

“Was that a compliment, Kacchan?” Izuku asks.

“No. It wasn’t. Stop being a martyr or whatever the fuck and just go to the mall. Walk around or talk or whatever it is you wanna do.”

Izuku smiles slightly, even more amused by the annoyed look Katsuki gets in response. “Thanks, Kacchan. That does actually help a bit,” he says. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. If you’re gonna stay here then it’d better be because you wanna plan when our fight is.”

He doesn’t really feel like leaving, so Izuku nods and gets more comfortable on the bed. While Katsuki goes back to cleaning his room while he starts to carefully pluck the rest of the geraniums out of his hair, making a pile of them next to him. He figures he’ll plant a few either in his room or in the common area later that day.

* * *

Izuku doesn’t get the chance to talk to Shouto alone until Monday. The moment they’re dismissed for lunch, he pulls him to the library so they can be somewhat alone for the discussion. Only once they’re in a more secluded corner of the library does he turn to Shouto and say, “I was thinking about where we could go on a date.” The very slight smile Shouto gets is enough for Izuku to start feeling excited, daisies blooming in his hair. 

“What were you thinking?” Shouto asks.

“Kacchan said there was a mall nearby. There’s a lot to do there, right? At the very least, we could walk around for a while and just explore. And he said there was a garden area there, too,” he explains.

He doesn’t really mention his worries about a monster attacking them at the mall. For now, he just wants to know if that’s a place Shouto would like to go. Maybe it would be too crowded and would make him feel overwhelmed or something. 

Shouto studies Izuku for a moment, glancing up at the flowers in his hair before looking back down to his eyes once more. “Is such a public place okay? What about monsters?” he asks. 

The fact that Shouto immediately thought of that makes Izuku smile softly, reaching out and taking his hand. “Well, I looked up villain attacks recently, over the past few months, and while there were a few instances that could be suspicious, nothing exactly screamed that a monster is anywhere in the city. Hopefully, it will be fine but I’m ready for the possibility that it does happen. And, if it does, I know you’re strong enough to help me fight and keep other people in the mall safe,” he explains. 

“I just want to make sure. I don’t mind just watching a movie with you in the dorms,” Shouto tells him.

Izuku nods once. “Definitely sure. I can’t let my life be controlled by fear, especially when there’s so much for me to potentially be scared of. The mall will be fun and I want to go with you.”

“Okay, the mall works.”

“Yeah? Because we could go somewhere else if you don’t like malls. I’m sure there’s a movie theater nearby or something.”

“I need to pick up some stuff anyway, so the mall is a great suggestion.”

Before Izuku can do more than smile wider, Shouto reaches up and runs a hand through his hair, gently pulling out one of the daisies and looking down at it. “What does this one mean?” he asks, completely unaware of the way Izuku is blushing.

“It, uh, it means excitement,” he manages, feeling a flower fall to his shoulder as something new replaces it. 

Shouto looks up now and pauses at seeing the new flower. “And what about the new one?” he asks, carefully plucking one of the flowers from his hair so he can see it. 

It’s a soft color, pinkish-purple, and small, the flower itself looking a little bit like a knot. “Um, marjoram, I think. It means that I’m feeling a little flustered,” he explains, steadfastly keeping his eyes on the flower. 

“Do I fluster you, Izuku?” 

The way he asks makes it sound like he’s genuinely curious but, when Izuku looks up, he can see the slight amusement in Shouto’s eyes as he waits for an answer. He huffs softly, getting a slight pout as he leans back against the wall behind him. “You already know you do,” he points out. 

Shouto considers him for a moment before moving to stand next to Izuku, their arms pressed together so he can hold his hand. “Yes, I do,” he agrees, interlocking their fingers. “I like being able to see the flowers that you bloom. I want to see how many different ones I can cause.”

As flustered as Shouto’s words make him, if Izuku could keep them in this moment, he would. He could forever enjoy the feel of Shouto’s cool hand pressed into his own, the quiet noise of a cart being pushed down an aisle of bookshelves a few rows over, the feeling of contentment nestling within him. He glances up to find Shouto already looking down at him. “Penny for your thoughts?” he asks.

“Do you even have pennies? Wouldn’t they be useless here?”

Izuku grins a bit, bumping their shoulders together with a fond smile. “It’s an expression and you know it. Seriously, though, what’s on your mind?”

“I’ve been wondering,” Shouto says, “if monster attacks were a concern, why did you come back to Japan? Weren’t you technically safer in America?”

Well, yes, technically he was safer back in the states, but only if he never left Camp Half-Blood. And, even then, there is a recent history of monsters being able to attack the place anyway. Izuku shrugs slightly and looks away, studying the small plaque on the shelf across from them proudly announcing they’re in the classics section of the library. “I’m not safe anywhere, really. But I always figured we’d only be in America until I was strong enough to protect myself when we came back.”

“And you think you’re strong enough.”

Izuku wants to say yes, but he won’t actually know unless he runs into a monster. Until then, he just doesn’t know for sure. “Well, I hope I am. I know I’m stronger than when I left, and that I can hold my own against other people, but it all depends on the monster, too.”

He can faintly hear the tinny beeping of someone scanning books at the front desk as he waits. Shouto eventually just nods once. “You’re strong enough.”

“You haven’t even seen me fight before, though.”

“I can just tell. And you don’t have to fight alone. I’m here, too.”

Even though Shouto is strong, Izuku doesn’t know if he’s strong enough to go against a monster, considering he’s still just human. But that’s not what he really cares about. Just the offer, the determination in his blue and grey eyes, is enough to make Izuku feel a little better. He might worry but he won’t stop Shouto from fighting. 

If push comes to shove, Izuku will protect him. For now, though, Izuku smiles gratefully up at him. “Thanks, Shou,” he says, squeezing his hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flower Guide:  
> Christmas roses- Anxiety  
> Daisies- Hope  
> Geranium- Indecision  
> Lisianthus- Gratefulness  
> Marjoram- Flustered  
> Peonies- Bashful


	9. Chapter 9

Izuku has a slight frown as he considers the shelf of pens before him. He’s been standing in front of it for the past ten minutes, only just narrowing down his choices to either a pack of erasable pens or a pack of ballpoint ones. On the one hand, erasable pens are useful but the pack only has eight different colors while the ballpoint pack has fifteen. Organization wise, going with the ballpoints might be the better choice. Being able to erase mistakes is still a very strong factor, though. 

“Have you still not decided?” Shouto asks, an eraser and a bottle of white-out in hand as he stands next to him. He looks over the pens as Izuku shakes his head and just grabs both packs from the shelf. “I’ll buy both.”

“What? No, I can’t ask that of you,” Izuku says, reaching for the packs only for Shouto to hold them out of reach.

“You don’t have to.”

He starts towards the register and Izuku hurries after him, biting the inside of his cheek nervously. This is too much of an imposition, right? “Really, Shouto, you don’t need to buy them for me. That’s too expensive.”

“It’s my father’s card. The money isn’t coming out of my own pocket.” 

Well, that helps a little to know. “I’m still not sure I like it.”

Shouto stops at the counter, setting everything down so they can be rung up, and looks at Izuku with a small, reassuring smile. “What if you buy a snack in return?” he asks. 

It’s not a bad compromise, considering how expensive mall food can get. Izuku considers it, not realizing that Shouto has already paid for the pens until he looks up to nod only to see the cashier bagging the purchase. He huffs softly at that, trying to hold back a smile and utterly failing.

“Thank you. I do appreciate it,” Izuku tells him, holding his hand out to take the bag. 

Instead of giving it to him, though, Shouto just switches the bag to his other hand so he can hold Izuku’s, tugging him towards the store exit. “Is that what the flowers in your hair mean?” he asks, kindly failing to point out the fact that the sweet peas are being joined by marjoram as Izuku feels his face heat up.

He doesn’t respond right away, instead ducking his head as they get into the main hallway of the mall once more, the general noise of so many other people managing to cover his lack of response for a few seconds. Izuku takes a deep breath and looks up at Shouto with a slight pout. “I was trying to carry the bag,” he says.

“I know. I wanted to hold your hand, though,” Shouto replies, looking down and shrugging as though it was obvious. Though, Izuku supposes maybe it was, considering that Shouto has a habit of being blunt in the weirdest of ways. If he isn’t saying how he feels, then he’s probably doing something to show his emotions without even realizing it. 

It’s still sweet, though, and Izuku can’t help the smile he gets. Continuing to bicker isn’t worth the energy, either, so he just lets the whole thing go. “Okay, what do you want to do next, then?” he asks, glancing at the stores they pass. A lot of them sell clothes, each one somehow managing to cater to a different kind of clientele. 

“We could just walk and get to know each other more.”

“Okay, sure. Is there anything you want to know about me?”

Shouto thinks for a moment. “What was it like living at a camp all year?” he finally asks. 

Somewhere ahead of them, a kid screeches with joy, making Izuku tense up slightly. He frowns at himself, forcing his shoulders to relax as he processes Shouto’s question. “Well, it was a lot quieter than living in a city. The camp was in the middle of a forest, too, so I got to spend a lot of time among trees and other plants. It’s probably obvious, but I preferred the company of plants more than the other kids at times. They’re just less complicated,” he explains. 

“How so?” Shouto asks, glancing at a small play area with several kids climbing all over the equipment. They all look extremely energetic while their parents look happy to just be taking a break from walking. It’s probably where the excited screech came from. Knowing helps a bit, and Izuku silently berates himself for being so paranoid. A little paranoia is fine, of course, but he really does want to just enjoy himself for once. 

He looks away from the play area, forcing his mind off of it. “Well, plants don’t really have emotions. I mean, they do, but not nearly as many as humans and they aren’t as easy to change. Trees, especially old ones, are some of the calmest plants there are. They’re sturdy, reliable, they don’t worry about much because they know nothing can knock them down easily. Younger ones are like that, too, but they tend to be a little more excitable as well. Vines are usually playful or like to be tricky. They know when to be serious, though. Flowers just want to grow. When they have, they just want to stay the way they are. It’s easy for me to do that for them, which makes them really happy. I’m not talking too much, right?”

The question seems to throw Shouto off for a moment, making him blink and look over at Izuku. “No. Why do you ask?”

“I just know I talk a lot and I don’t want you to feel like you can’t say anything or interrupt me if you become bothered by it.” Shouto frowns slightly, stopping for just a brief second to look around before pulling Izuku towards what looks like an arcade. It’s mostly empty, with one person playing a racing game and a group of people watching someone on one of the dance machines. “Uh, why are we in here?” Izuku asks.

Shouto stops by a row of claw machine games, turning to look at Izuku with a weirdly serious expression. “I like hearing you talk. I’m not bothered by it at all,” he says. 

That’s why he pulled him into the arcade? It seems almost like an overreaction but it’s also kind of sweet that he wanted to be clear in his reassurance. “Really?”

“I don’t like it when things are completely silent. It puts me on edge. Your talking is nice,” he explains, shrugging slightly and looks away, the light of the games shining on his face. 

“Okay,” Izuku says, smiling reassuringly when Shouto looks back at him, “I’ll talk as much as I usually do, then. But feel free to cut in whenever you want.” He knows flowers have bloomed in his hair when Shouto stares at them for a moment before getting a soft smile of his own. “Which ones are there now?”

“Sakura. Are you feeling affectionate, Izuku?” he asks. 

“I think so, yeah.”

Shouto nods once and looks back down to his eyes. “Since we’re here, do you want to play any of the games?”

Oh, he hadn’t even thought of that. Izuku looks around them, taking in the prizes being offered by the claw machines but doubting that he’s really going to want any of them. And then he sees the machine at the very end of the row, his eyes widening slightly at the All Might plush nearly pressed against the glass.

“I’m gonna try that one,” he says, grabbing Shouto’s hand and pulling him over to the machine. Once they get to it, he studies the position of the plush, getting as close to the glass as he can without touching it. “Okay, I’ll give myself five chances to get it. If I can’t by then, I’ll leave it. The easiest thing to do might be trying to move it with the first attempt so it’s easier to grab on the next four. How close to the glass can the claw get? Not very, it seems, but close enough that it might take two attempts to fully move the plush instead of just the one.”

Izuku frowns slightly, pulling his wallet out and inserting a few coins into the slot. “Why are you putting so much thought into it?” Shouto asks, standing next to him and watching the way he meticulously moves the joystick to position the claw just right. 

“These games are impossible on purpose. It’s easy to sink a bunch of money in them, so I usually only give myself a certain amount of attempts so I don’t go broke trying to win them. That means I have to calculate the best way to get the prize within that number of attempts.”

The timer on the machine gets all the way to five seconds before Izuku hits the button to lower the claw. He leans closer to the glass as it jerkily descends over the bottom half of the All Might plush, sitting there for a few seconds before rising back up. For a second, it looks like he’s managed to get the plush only for it to fall out of the claw’s grip. Izuku huffs softly but doesn’t let himself dwell on it, instead putting in more coins for the second attempt.

He manages to position the claw much quicker this time. Once he’s hit the button to lower it, Shouto asks, “Why do you want it so much?”

Once again, the claw manages to close over the plush. Izuku looks up at Shouto and smiles at him. “It’s a limited edition plush that had a very short run in America. I didn’t manage to get one before they sold out,” he explains. 

The plush falls out of the claw once more and Izuku pouts. 

“You can’t just buy it?”

“It’s more fun this way,” Izuku says, going through the whole process once more. 

That attempt and his next two all fail, leaving him with petunias in his hair and a frown as he stares at the All Might plush. Izuku takes a deep breath, accepting the fact that he isn’t going to get the plush.

He looks away from the machine, blinking when he notices the way Shouto is staring at the plush. “Let me try,” he says.

Izuku shrugs and moves out of the way, leaning against the machine and watching as Shouto inserts a few coins. “They’re really hard, though, so it’s easy to get frustrated when you can’t get the prize you want,” he says. 

Instead of responding right away, Shouto just positions the claw over the All Might plush and presses the button to release it. Well, there’s no way he’s going to get it, considering he didn’t even make sure the claw would descend at just the right angle. Izuku looks away from the claw, studying Shouto as he concentrates on the plush.

“I got it,” Shouto says. 

Izuku blinks and quickly looks back at the machine, eyes wide when he sees the All Might plush being dropped into the chute. Shouto crouches and pulls the plush out, presenting it to Izuku with a slight smile. 

“How did you do that?” Izuku asks, getting an excited grin as he takes the plush and hugs it close. He looks down, taking in the huge smile and obviously cheap fabric that makes up the costume. “It must’ve been luck or something.”

“Maybe,” Shouto agrees. 

Izuku glances back at the machine and pauses when he sees the plush that was underneath the All Might. A red panda with a deadpan expression that reminds him a little of Shouto. Would it be too much to ask for that one, too? He’s fine without it, right? Then again, now that he’s made the association between it and Shouto, he feels horrible at the thought of leaving it behind. 

“Um, could you try for another one?” he asks. 

“Do you not like the All Might as much as you thought?” Shouto asks, frowning slightly. 

“No! I love the All Might! It’s just, well, you see the red panda? It reminds me of you and I can’t leave it behind. It’d be lonely if I did.”

Shouto looks at the machine, staring at the red panda for a moment. “The red panda reminds you of me?” he asks.

“You don’t have to, Shouto, really. I mean, these games are rigged so it’s definitely impossible to get a prize twice in a row. If it’s too much of a bother, then don’t worry about it.”

“No, I’ll get it,” Shouto says, feeding a few more coins into the slot. 

Izuku presses closer, hugging Shouto’s free arm as he watches. He’s already preparing himself to reassure Shouto that it’s fine he didn’t get the red panda. It’s also entirely possible that he’ll have to pull Shouto out of the arcade so he doesn’t waste all his money on the claw game. He sees the claw starting to drop and takes a breath so he can speak only to lose it when the red panda is picked up by the machine. The claw jerkily moves towards the chute, dropping the plush into it before moving back into position. 

Neither of them move. Izuku is too busy staring at the chute and trying to comprehend what just happened. He feels a gentle nudge and looks up at Shouto. “Are you going to get it?” he asks. 

“Oh! Yes!”

Izuku carefully pulls the red panda out, still not entirely sure it’s real until he’s running a hand over the soft material of its ears. He looks at Shouto again and blurts out, “Do you have a second quirk? Like luck or something?”

“Well, maybe, I got to meet you, after all.”

The words are said so seriously that Izuku can’t help hiding his face in the red panda, feeling more marjoram blooming in his hair. He squeezes his eyes shut, trying to slow down his heart as he feels Shouto’s hand on his arm. 

“Did I say something wrong?” he asks worriedly. 

Izuku quickly shakes his head, a few flowers coming loose and dropping to his shoulders. “No, definitely not,” he manages, peeking up at Shouto and making sure the panda is still hiding most of his face. “Thank you, really, I can’t believe you got both on your first tries.”

“You wanted them. I would have kept trying until I got them.”

Does he know how sweet that sounds? Izuku is pretty sure he doesn’t, considering Shouto is saying everything so seriously. That’s more endearing than he thought it would be. These plushies, plus the pens, all make Izuku feel weirdly light. It takes a moment for him to realize he just feels relaxed. His shoulders aren’t tense, he isn’t trying to stay constantly aware of his surroundings, he hasn’t once instinctually reached for any of the seeds in his pockets. This feeling is so dangerous, but it’s really nice, too. Surely enjoying it for a little longer will be fine. 

“Do you want to get ice cream?” he asks. When Shouto nods, he takes his hand and tugs him out of the arcade. 

* * *

There have been sunflowers in his hair ever since they left the mall. Izuku has been smiling that whole time, too, his cheeks starting to hurt as he looks down at the list of questions on his phone. The point of the date was getting to know each other, but neither of them could think of anything to ask, which is why Izuku turned to the internet. 

“Oh, here’s one. What’s the most beautiful view you’ve ever seen? And you can’t be cheesy and say me. Pick something else,” he says, looking up to see the slight disappointment in Shouto’s eyes at the last bit.

It’s not really dark out, but the sun is getting close to setting, making everything just a little bit softer. In order to make the date stretch out a little longer, they decided to take a longer route back to the school, one that takes them through a park with multiple walking trails and little ponds.

Izuku idly rubs the ear on the red panda as he waits for Shouto to respond. The plants around them feel perky, their energy feeding into Izuku’s own happy mood. Finally, after a few more seconds, Shouto says, “My family went on a beach vacation once. The water was so blue it looked fake. At dawn, it seemed to turn different colors, so I’d wake up early every morning to see it.”

“That sounds really nice. Does your family go on vacation often?”

“No. We only went then because Fuyumi, my sister, had planned everything beforehand so our father couldn’t refuse.”

“Endeavor, right? He doesn’t exactly seem the type to like vacations.”

“He isn’t. He’s too focused on beating All Might and taking the number one spot.”

Izuku can’t help laughing at that, smiling apologetically at the confused look Shouto gets. “I’m sorry, it’s just, he’s never going to be better than All Might,” he says.

“Why not?”

“All Might’s a demigod. Last time I checked, Endeavor is very much a mortal, no divinity whatsoever. There’s absolutely no way he can ever get the number one spot unless All Might retired,” Izuku explains. 

Shouto frowns slightly, looking away from him and coming to a slow stop. Izuku blinks and turns towards him, the sunflowers in his hair starting to wilt a little as he wonders if maybe he said something wrong. “Who is All Might the son of?” Shouto asks. 

“Oh, um, we’re not really sure? Well, I mean that he hasn’t exactly told anyone and nobody was around when he was claimed by his godly parent, so nobody knows absolutely except for the gods, and even they won’t tell anyone, which is pretty normal for them, really. But most of the speculation has been narrowed down to two possibilities, which, considering how many gods there are, is kind of an amazing feat. Most people are split between it being Kratos, the god of strength, or Nike, the goddess of victory. Those two are siblings and are usually called upon when one is going to war. Anyway, All Might is incredibly strong, but he also hasn’t lost a battle yet, which makes it hard to tell if that’s because of his power having to do with whatever it takes to win because of Nike, or if it’s because he’s just preternaturally strong compared to even other demigods because of Kratos.”

Izuku forces himself to stop talking, even though he could go on into a ramble about the godly family tree, some of the more outrageous guesses of what All Might’s lineage is, or an in-depth analysis of how All Might’s powers seem to work. But he already can’t tell what Shouto is thinking and that might make it worse. “Um, are you okay?” he asks hesitantly. 

He doesn’t get an answer right away. Instead, Shouto seems to finally settle on how he feels about all this information and laughs. It’s soft, filled with what Izuku thinks is disbelief, and only slightly relieving to hear. “I’m fine. Sorry. I just find it funny that he’ll never best All Might because he isn’t even on the same playing field. And he doesn’t even know it. I kind of want to tell him.”

“You can’t, though,” Izuku says, frowning slightly as he steps closer to Shouto so their eyes can meet. “Seriously, Shouto, you can’t tell Endeavor about demigods. It’s still a secret, one that we keep because if everyone knew then it would be that much easier for monsters to find us. Promise you won’t tell.”

Shouto stares at him for a moment before he nods once. “I wouldn’t have, Izuku. And I promise I won’t,” he says, getting a soft, reassuring smile. 

It helps him feel better, and Izuku nods in return. “Okay, good. Let’s keep walking, yeah? There’s still a bunch of questions on this list that we can ask each other.”

He angles his phone to let Shouto see the list so he can pick one as they start walking again. Even though everything is resolved, Izuku still feels even more on edge than he normally does. It’s weird. His nerves haven’t felt this bad the entire time he’s been in Japan. But now it’s like every hair on his body is standing straight, like he’s being watched and-

There’s a tree, one that feels really anxious, is practically shaking with the force of it. Izuku looks around, spotting it a few feet off the path, and hesitating before taking Shouto’s hand and tugging him towards it. 

“What’s wrong?” Shouto asks. 

Izuku doesn’t answer him just yet, stopping right in front of the tree and laying a hand on the trunk. “This tree is really scared and I’m feeling incredibly on edge,” he says, looking up at Shouto only to see something moving over his shoulder. 

On instinct, he pushes Shouto behind him only to see that it was just a person. For a few seconds, he feels a little foolish for getting so worked up over just one person. And then one becomes three as two more join them, which soon becomes five and every alarm bell in Izuku’s head is ringing as they just stare at him and Shouto. 

“Izuku, what’s going on?” Shouto whispers, a reassuring hand on his arm but all Izuku can think is that it’ll slow him down in a fight. 

He swallows the harsh words that want to bubble out of him, instead hugging the All Might and red panda plush closer to his chest like they’ll somehow protect him. In his pockets, the seeds are starting to grow antsy as well, reacting to his nervous energy and aching to burst from their shells.

The five people still haven’t said anything, which is just making Izuku’s nerves even worse. If they’re waiting for him to speak first, then fine, he will. But he needs to reassure Shouto first. He glances back at Shouto, flashes a weak smile, and quietly says, “Remember how I mentioned monsters? This might be that. Just….trust me and stay here for now.”

Izuku quickly hands the plushies to Shouto, not giving him any time to object to what he likely believes is a stupid plan. He already knows it’s stupid but it’s all he can really think of at the moment. Once his hands are free, he shoves them into his pockets, grabbing two seeds in each as he steps forward.

The group doesn’t move, watching him intently as he stops after only taking a few steps away from the tree. Izuku ignores the way his heart is pounding, ignores how they can probably hear that if they really are monsters, and tries to figure out what they could be. Teaming up isn’t uncommon, but all of them adopting human forms is a little weird. Maybe harpies?

“Are you lost or something? Because you can get back to the main street if you just go left,” Izuku says.

“Do you know how strong your scent is, grandson of Hades?” they ask, their voices all different but in perfect sync and Izuku suddenly knows what they are, remembers the story from Percy about his first quest.

A hydra. Of course. 

Izuku frowns slightly as he considers them. “That’s really disrespectful, you know. My mother is arguably the most powerful goddess at the moment and you’re still making Hades the more important part of my lineage? I mean, really? You couldn’t even go for Persephone? She’s technically my grandmother. Or what about Demeter? I’m just saying that there are plenty of powerful women for you to choose from and you just immediately go for Hades anyway. I know you’re a monster but that doesn’t mean you have to act monstrously. Now, I think that’s enough of a lecture for today, so just go on home and think about your actions before coming to find me again.”

It doesn’t work. Izuku didn’t really think it would but he was right in figuring it would give him at least another moment to think. By the time they’ve all caught up to what he said, scowling with annoyance at him, Izuku has vines wrapping up his left arm. They stop at his elbow, creating a thorny layer of vines ready to do as he asks.

The person in the middle smirks at him, raising their hand to their mouth and blowing a small stream of fire through it. Yeah, Izuku might be a little fucked. Though, all things considered, those are pretty good odds for a demigod.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's just a slightly random hc of mine that Shouto is inexplicably good at the claw machine games. Anyway, thanks for reading!
> 
> Flower Guide:  
> Marjoram- Flustered  
> Petunias- Frustration  
> Sakura- Affectionate  
> Sweet Pea- Appreciation  
> Sunflowers- Happiness


	10. Chapter 10

The hydra starts smoking, literally, and Izuku realizes it’s from their fake bodies being burned off so they can unite into a singular monster again. That process looks like it’s going to take a minute, which gives Izuku the time to look behind him to check on Shouto. 

He’s fine. In fact, he’s currently creating a dome of ice around their stuff to protect it from the fight. Something about that makes Izuku’s heart swell in a way that it probably shouldn’t when he’s about to face off against a monster. No doubt, Percy would berate him for it if he were here.

“Shouto, you need to get to cover,” Izuku tells him, glancing back at the hydra to see it’s almost fully formed, its scales looking weirdly gooey and he dreads the idea of finding out exactly what that feels like. 

“No, I’m going to help you fight. That’s a….a hydra. You can’t possibly take it on by yourself,” Shouto argues. 

Normally, Izuku would be fine with this. But not right now. He knows how hypocritical it is considering he’d promised to let Shouto fight with him on the off-chance they ran into a monster during their date, but Izuku was expecting something simpler. Like a harpy. Or a minotaur. Not a  _ hydra _ that could burn them both to a crisp without a second thought. 

He doesn’t exactly have the time to explain all of that right now, though. 

“Listen, I kno-”

The ground starts to shake, cutting him off, and Izuku whips back around just in time for a tail to throw him in the air, knocking the breath out of him on impact. He faintly hears Shouto yelling his name, wants to reassure him that he’s taken stronger hits than this before, but he should probably focus on not breaking anything when he hits the ground. 

Landing hurts, sending weird shockwaves through his bones as he rolls over his shoulder and comes to a full stop a few feet away from the hydra and Shouto. Izuku doesn’t take the second he needs to get over it, instead pushing himself up again and looking back to see a spear of ice just barely cutting through one of the hydra’s necks. It doesn’t cut the head off, though, and Izuku is relieved for that at least. 

He focuses on the ground around the hydra, feeling the roots there from the tree Shouto is backed up against. Izuku reaches out to them, tugging insistently until they give in and take his energy, bursting through the ground to wrap around the body of the hydra. They sink back into the dirt, dragging the monster down with them. 

Izuku gets a slightly relieved smile and runs back over. Maybe this will be a little easier than he thought. “Shouto, are you okay?” he asks, keeping an eye on the hydra as it thrashes and tries to release itself from the roots. 

“I should be asking you that.”

“I’m fine. Okay, we can’t just cut off a head, because two will grow back. But we can cauterize the neck before they’re able to and that will make sure none replace it.”

The middle head finally gets tired of the struggling and spews fire onto the roots, making them shrink back into the ground to escape the flames. Izuku can’t blame them for it.

All the heads shake as the hydra stands once more. The middle one takes a deep breath and blows more fire at them, hitting the tree when Izuku yanks Shouto down to the ground to avoid it. He raises his arm over their heads in an attempt to shield them from the flames, feeling the heat get close enough to make the vines shift uncomfortably. 

He can feel how much it hurts the tree, though, feels the screaming, pained energy in his muscles as the fire begins to climb up the trunk. “Ice the tree, Shouto, please, ice the tree,” Izuku begs. He breathes a sigh of relief when Shouto nods and smothers the flames with ice. 

“Now what?” Shouto asks, his right hand still on the tree to keep the ice from melting. “How are we going to get close enough to cut off a head and cauterize?”

Izuku takes a deep breath and stands up, looking the middle head in the eye with a glare that he knows is probably rendered a little pointless by the flowers he feels blooming in his hair. Based on the way he wants to cut off some heads, he’s guessing they’re probably  tansies . 

A plan, he needs some kind of a plan to get close. The only thing he can think of is rushing the monster. It’s stupid and reckless enough to be what he decides to go with. “I need you to cover me. Keep it distracted, fire, ice, whatever it takes, but get ready to cauterize the necks,” he instructs. 

Shouto considers him for a moment before nodding once and stepping in front of him, slamming his right foot on the ground and encasing the hydra’s legs in ice. Then he throws fire at the left-most head, running in that direction to get its attention.

As much as Izuku trusts Shouto, he can’t help being worried, fighting the urge to run after him and protect him from attacks. He pushes it down, heading in the opposite direction instead to come up behind the hydra only for the right two heads to follow his movements. 

Okay, fine, he’ll just have to work with this.

The vines around his arm shoot out and wrap around the muzzles of both heads, the thorns digging in when Izuku pulls them taut. The heads thrash but to no avail, the vines only tightening even more to keep the mouths shut. Izuku uses the vines as leverage to swing onto the first heads’ neck, his heart pounding as he tries to keep out of sight of the other three heads. 

The two constricted by his vines thrash even harder, nearly knocking him off if not for more vines wrapping around his waist and the neck to hold him steady. Izuku forces himself to breathe, reminding himself that this can be taken care of quickly once he starts cutting heads off. He’s already on the hydra, after all. It should just be a matter of jumping from neck to neck while Shouto cauterizes. 

Izuku yanks his pant leg up and reaches for the dagger that should be in a sheath strapped to his calf only to come up empty. He blinks, looking down at his leg with wide eyes as he suddenly remembers that he didn’t bring his daggers because Kacchan told him to not worry so much. He even remembers weakly arguing before getting shoved out of his room so he could go meet Shouto in the common area, his daggers resting innocently in their sheaths on his desk.

* * *

Shouto can see Izuku on the neck of the head farthest away from him and gets ready to shoot fire even as he continues to create spikes of ice that trap the hydra. Izuku has had that green glow around him this whole time but now it’s starting to dim as he reaches for something on his leg that just isn’t there. 

Shouto doesn’t know what the problem is, something that makes his stomach churn as he throws another fireball to distract the hydra heads. Instead of slicing through the neck he’s sitting on, Izuku seems frozen, too stunned to move as his face contorts into something between fear and intense regret. He only snaps out of it when the hydra-head nearly manages to throw him off, saved only by the vines securing him to its neck.

Soon enough, more vines lash out, tangling between the two heads already muzzled and forcing them closer together. The thorns dig in enough to make blood- darker than Shouto has ever seen before- slide down the two necks and drop to the ground. Izuku then shimmies down the hydra’s neck, landing on its body and carefully making his way towards the middle head.

In order to keep it properly distracted, Shouto creates more ice that crawls up the legs and freezes the tail to the ground. He keeps the distractions going as Izuku repeats the process of binding the necks and heads with vines. 

It’s only when he’s on the last neck that Izuku looks down at Shouto, his face flushed and his hair in even more disarray than usual. “I need you to call my mom,” he says. 

The words are unexpected enough that he nearly loses his focus entirely as he tries to process them. “Why? What happened to cauterizing?”

“I….I didn’t bring my daggers. I have nothing to cut them with. And your ice isn’t strong enough to cut them quickly. So you need to call my mom and ask her to send All Might,” Izuku explains.

With how much he talked about needing to be prepared for monsters, it’s hard to believe he’d forget something as important as his daggers. But Shouto isn’t going to question that too much right now. “Okay. Do I pray to her or something?” he asks. 

“What? No. There’s no guarantee she’ll even hear your prayer.” Before he can continue, one of the heads breaks free of the vines and snaps at Izuku, nearly catching his leg between razor-sharp teeth if not for his quick reflexes. 

Shouto throws a spear of ice at the head, managing to graze its jaw and gain its attention. Almost immediately, more vines wrap around its muzzle again. “So, how am I supposed to call?” Shouto asks, readying another ice spear in one hand and a fireball in the other. 

“On my phone,” Izuku tells him, sounding like it’s something that should be obvious. But, all things considered, Shouto thinks exceptions should be made right now. 

He watches the other heads thrash to get free, and Izuku somehow manages to hold on even as he clumsily pulls his phone out of his pocket. There’s absolutely zero warning before he throws it, Shouto just barely able to put out the fireball in time to catch it. 

When he gets a good look at the screen, the phone is already dialing Inko. She picks up as Shouto puts the phone to his ear, answering with a warm, “Hello, Izuku. Are you back from your date already?”

She sounds so pleasantly calm that Shouto almost feels bad for saying, “It’s Shouto, actually. Izuku and I are currently fighting a hydra in Dagobah park and help from All Might would be much appreciated.”

The line is silent for a moment, during which the middle head breaks free. Shouto rolls out of the way of the fire shot at him, managing to hold onto the phone. Before Izuku is able to bind the head again, it tears the vines from the one next to it. From there, it’s a near-tragic chain of events that leaves Izuku scrambling to bind them again as Shouto does his best to keep them distracted while waiting for Inko’s response. 

“Sorry, Shouto,” she finally says, her voice somehow calming even over the phone. “I’ve told All Might where you are and he should be there shortly.”

As much as Shouto would have loved to respond, he doesn’t. Instead, he drops the phone in favor of running to catch Izuku when the hydra finally manages to throw him off. Their collision throws Shouto to the ground, thorns from the vines still wrapped around Izuku’s arm digging painfully into his skin as they both groan.

“What’d mom say?” Izuku asks, wincing as he pushes himself up. 

Shouto gratefully takes the hand he offers, pulling himself up and then yanking Izuku out of a fire plume’s path. “All Might should be here soon, apparently.”

“A minute at most, then. We can handle that,” Izuku says, panting softly as he notices the holes in Shouto’s clothes from his thorns. “Oh, sorry about that.”

“It’s fine,” Shouto replies, once again pulling Izuku out of the way of more fire before creating ice that climbs up the middle neck and covers the head completely. It won’t hold for long, but maybe they’ll get lucky and it will last until All Might shows up. 

Izuku seems oddly dazed as he looks back at the hydra, frowning slightly and putting a hand into his pocket. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left my daggers in the dorms,” he says softly. 

Is that what’s distracting him? Shouto looks at Izuku and shrugs, grabbing his hand to squeeze it reassuringly. “It’s fine. Though, I am curious about why you did.”

“Kacchan convinced me that I was being too paranoid by wanting to bring them.”

“I think you shouldn’t put any stock in what Bakugou says after this.”

Izuku laughs softly and looks up at Shouto with a fond smile, the orange flowers in his hair starting to fall out to be replaced by  sakura instead. “You might be right,” he agrees. 

The sound of ice shattering is the only warning they have before Shouto can see a tail swinging towards them from behind Izuku. He doesn’t really think, just pushes Izuku out of the way and takes the full brunt of the tail when it collides with his stomach and throws him into a tree. Bark digs into his back and he has the brief thought that the splinters will be annoying to get out later even as he wheezes when the breath is knocked out of him. 

He tries to pull air in, his lungs burning and much too tight as he drops to the ground. Everything looks a little blurry, mostly just colors and weird shapes as his mind tries to catch up with everything that’s going on. Shouto thinks he hears Izuku shouting, maybe his name but maybe something else. He knows for sure that the green glow around Izuku flashes brighter than it has before, and feels the ground beneath him trembling.

Roots break through the ground, much larger than should be naturally possible, and wrap around the hydra, forcing it down as Izuku steps closer to it. Shouto wants to tell him to stay back, considering the middle head seems to be smoking. At least, he thinks it is. Focusing on one thing for very long is difficult to do right now. And his mind very quickly moves away from the fight and makes him think about the fact that he can’t really speak, can’t get enough air in for anything more than a hoarse whisper that grates his throat.

He needs to get up, right? Izuku shouldn’t still be facing that thing alone and Shouto knows he can keep going, knows well enough that adrenaline is going to kick in any second now, and give him a second wind. He grits his teeth, hissing in pain when he tries to move only to feel a sharp pain in his ribs. But it’s fine. He can work through it, can still get up.

The ground shakes again and Shouto looks up, expecting to see more roots or maybe even some new trees bursting through the dirt to trap the hydra. Instead, he slowly processes the new shape and color scheme and odd golden glow that is All Might standing behind Izuku and putting a hand on his shoulder. 

Oh. All Might. He’ll take care of things, right? Right. 

Shouto doesn’t remember much after that, too focused on continuing to breathe and not pass out. He doesn’t do a very good job on the not-passing-out part.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flower Guide:  
> Sakura- Affection  
> Tansies- Hostility


	11. Chapter 11

One of the good things about being a demigod is that healing is fairly quick as long as you have some ambrosia on hand. Given Izuku’s general track record and the multiple stories from Percy about the importance of the godly food, he usually always keeps a square or two nearby. Luckily, the same seems to be true for All Might, as he’s the one who gives Izuku a small piece once they’ve gotten to Recovery Girl’s office.

Izuku slowly chews the piece given to him as he sits on the infirmary bed, staring intently at the curtain blocking Recovery Girl and Shouto from his view. On the bed in front of him are their bags and the plushies, the only damage being that they’re just slightly damp from Shouto’s ice melting a little. He’d nearly forgotten all about them in his panic right after the hydra had been taken care of, only remembering them when he happened to notice the small ice dome still protecting them. 

“It’s not very good quality, is it?” All Might asks, studying the plush of himself. He turns it over in his hands, his smile still in place and just as bright as before. While it’s still something that Izuku admires about the hero, he wishes that he could just stop smiling for a few seconds. It feels weird to see when he’s so conflicted. All Might looks at Izuku and hums, setting the plush down on the bed again. “Don’t worry. Young Todoroki will be fine. He’s strong, you know.”

That isn’t the issue. But Izuku isn’t going to tell All Might that. “Thanks,” he mumbles around the ambrosia. He’s probably chewed it as much as he can but stubbornly refuses to swallow it just yet. As long as he’s still eating, he can’t be expected to talk very much, right? At least, he hopes that’s how this is going to work.

The hero sighs softly as the door to the infirmary is thrown open and Inko enters, her eyes immediately locking onto Izuku and starting to fill with tears. “You’re okay!” she exclaims, beyond relieved as she rushes over and pulls him into a tight hug. Her fingers card through his hair, easily removing the Christmas roses still stuck in his locks. 

Izuku can’t help feeling better in her presence, finally swallowing the ambrosia so he can look up at her with a reassuring smile. “I’m fine. Shouto is the one who really got hurt. Do you….could you heal him?” he asks. 

“Oh, honey, I wish I could. But I don’t know how my powers will interact with Recovery Girl’s quirk. Let’s let her do her job and then we’ll see about at least reducing pain later,” she says, the words warm and gentle and lulling Izuku into a sleepy calm. 

He leans into her more and nods slightly. “Okay, that works,” he says, allowing her to coddle him as much as she needs. It’s the least he can do, really.

* * *

Izuku hasn’t been able to sleep. He pretended to try when Recovery Girl wished him a good night and shut off the lights, only the emergency one in the corner staying on, but he had sat up the moment the door closed. For the past hour or so, he’s been on his phone, trying to distract himself from reliving the day’s events. Hugging the All Might and red panda plushies help a bit but they can only do so much when he’s constantly aware of Shouto sleeping in the bed next to him.

He hasn’t woken up once. Recovery Girl said that was normal, that his body has to catch up on rest from the added strain of her quirk. Izuku almost wishes it was possible for mortals to have ambrosia or nectar without disintegrating. Then again, Shouto waking up means they’ll have to talk, something he’s not sure he wants just yet. If he’s asleep, then Izuku can just pretend nothing at all is wrong. 

At this point, Izuku is so lost in trying to contain his thoughts that he doesn’t even know what he’s looking at on his phone. The screen is just a mix of bright colors and lines of text. He’s in the process of trying to understand what’s in front of him when he feels the sensation of being watched. 

For a brief second, Izuku half expects to see another monster when he looks to the bed next to him. Instead, it’s just Shouto, propped up on one arm and still looking a little sleep-dazed. The bandage around his head is making his hair fluff up and his trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes makes for an adorable image that has Izuku smiling slightly. “What happened?” he asks, his voice rough like his throat is dry.

“What do you remember?” Izuku asks in return, setting his phone down. He stands and grabs the bottle of water on his nightstand, passing it to Shouto so he can soothe his throat.

As he takes a sip, Shouto gestures for Izuku to sit on the bed with him. “The hydra, calling your mother….getting knocked into a tree. Nothing after that. Though, I assume the monster was taken care of since we’re both here. Unless, of course, the Underworld just looks drastically different from the way I imagined.”

Izuku can’t help a laugh at that, beyond relieved that Shouto is feeling well enough to make jokes. He glances up when he feels Shouto’s hand in his hair, taking in the lisianthus he comes away with. “What does this one mean?” he asks. 

“Gratitude. I’m relieved that you’re okay,” Izuku explains. 

Shouto slowly nods, setting the flower between them on the bed. “Are you okay? Something seems wrong,” he says. 

There’s really no avoiding this conversation, as much as Izuku might like to pretend it isn’t necessary. “I think what happened with the hydra just proves that it’s dangerous for you to be around me. It’s hard to totally avoid me because of school and all, but I understand if you didn’t want to try dating again.”

“There’s nothing to understand,” Shouto replies, barely letting any time pass between Izuku’s words and his own. “I knew what I was getting into. You made sure of that.”

He would love to let things go at that, to let himself accept Shouto’s words without arguing. But Izuku can’t do that when it feels like it’s his fault Shouto got hurt. Technically, it is; the hydra wouldn’t have come anywhere near them if not for Izuku being a demigod. “But you got hurt. Being around me is dangerous and you could get hurt again. It’s just safer for you to limit contact outside of school,” he says. 

Shouto sighs and takes Izuku’s hand in his own, holding his gaze intently. “Izuku, I’m training to be a hero. Being hurt is part of the job. It would happen whether I was around you or not.”

“But it would happen less if you weren’t around me. Most demigods don’t live to see twenty, Shouto, and I don’t want you to risk having such a short life because of me. I’m not worth that and I’m not selfish enough to ask it of you.”

He thinks maybe he’s gotten Shouto to understand when he doesn’t immediately respond. As much as a part of Izuku is relieved by this, the other part of him feels devastated. It’s impossible to say that he and Shouto were officially together, but they were on their way to that. Any future connection they could have had together is lost to him now. That’s what hurts more than anything else, is what makes his eyes burn and his throat close up around the ball of sorrow stuck there. His hair feels heavy and Izuku lets go of Shouto’s hand to pull out the purple hyacinths, larger than most other flowers that grow on him. 

The bed dips slightly as Shouto moves closer, seeming to hesitate before reaching up to brush some hair out of Izuku’s face. “I get where you’re coming from but this isn’t solely your decision. I have a say in this, too.”

Izuku sniffs and wipes his eyes before any tears can fall. “You’re right, I’m sorry,” he says quietly, forcing his eyes to stay on his lap. 

“I saw you at the sakura tree on the day you transferred,” Shouto tells him, letting his hand drop to the bed as he changes the subject. “I can’t really explain it, but it felt like time slowed down and I got this overwhelming urge to talk to you.”

“Why didn’t you?” Izuku asks. 

“Momo texted me and when I looked up again, you were gone and I thought I had missed my chance. Seeing you walk into the class was honestly a relief.”

It sounds familiar and Izuku finds himself wondering how similar the experience was to when his mother saw his father for the first time. If it was anything like that, then there probably isn’t much that could keep Shouto away. That thought makes Izuku a lot happier than it should, considering he was just trying to break things off before they really had a chance to begin.

Izuku takes a deep breath and wipes at his eyes again, more to give his hands something to do than a need to get rid of tears. “I’m just worried,” he whispers, “I don’t like seeing the people I care about get hurt.”

“Getting hurt is inevitable.”

“Then, I don’t like being the reason that people I care about get hurt.”

“It was the hydra’s fault, not yours.”

“The hydra was only there because I’m a demigod.”

“You can’t control what you are, Izuku, so that’s not a good enough reason for me to stay away.”

Izuku groans and looks up at Shouto, wondering if he knows how stubborn he’s being. Based on the slight smile, he’s going to say the answer to that is yes. “But what if I actually am the reason you get hurt next time?” he asks. 

“How could you be?”

“I….I lost control of myself, of my powers.”

The admission makes Shouto pause, getting a slight frown as he considers Izuku. “You lost control?” he asks. 

“Yes. A little. After the hydra’s tail threw you into the tree. Part of my powers is that plants will respond to what I’m feeling. Sometimes, it just means that a fern will shake if I’m nervous but, well, if it’s something intense, like thinking you were really hurt, then it’s a much stronger reaction,” Izuku explains, glancing up at Shouto before quickly looking down again. He picks up one of the hyacinths and begins to rub the petals between his thumb and forefinger. “I was worried but mostly angry at the hydra, and it caused the whole park to shake with how strong my emotions were. I’m an emotional person, sure, but it’s never been that strong before. 

“It was kind of scary to feel how easily the plants did what I asked. In fact, it was as if they could tell what I wanted before I knew myself. Usually, there’s a little resistance like they’re questioning me or trying to get me to think, but there was none of that this time. They nearly attacked All Might when he showed up, too. And I don’t know how much of that was me and how much of that was the plants taking advantage of the energy I gave them. I’m not entirely sure that I want to know either.”

“You didn’t actually hurt All Might, though, right?” Shouto asks. 

“Well, no, but I almost did.”

“What matters is that you didn’t.”

He finds that hard to believe. The almost matters, too. Almost shows how far Izuku is capable of going if he doesn’t stop himself. He almost attacked All Might, almost allowed a tree’s roots to pierce right through the hero. How can that not matter? How can he believe his stopping them outweighs the fact that he almost didn’t? 

He can’t. 

“That’s not true. I don’t ever want to lose control like that again. Maybe I won’t be able to stop myself next time. Maybe next time I’ll hurt you.” He almost feels like he’s going around in circles, trying to explain why he isn’t safe to be around only for Shouto to counter him with a point that sounds so reasonable when it comes from him. 

Shouto sighs and shifts a little closer until their knees are touching. “I think you sound a lot like I did a few days ago,” he says. 

Oh. He does, doesn’t he? Izuku almost wants to argue that it’s completely different, but it really isn’t. They’re essentially the same worry but with different powers. Though, Izuku supposes it’s possible to argue that his powers are fundamentally stronger than Shouto’s, which would make it different enough. But that just seems reductive.

“It’s just….I’m not supposed to be that powerful,” he finally says. 

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Izuku takes a deep breath and looks up at Shouto. “Power for demigods relies a lot on where our godly parents fall on the chain of command, so to speak. It also depends on the kind of powers our parents have. Children of Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus will be among the most powerful. Things like lightning, water, the dead. That kind of stuff. Demigods from other parents don’t usually have those kinds of powers. I mean, maybe a kid of Hephaestus will have some control over fire or something like that, but it’s not nearly as powerful. Mom is a minor goddess, which means my powers should be even weaker than a child of the 12 Olympians. I shouldn’t have been able to do _any_ of what I did after you were thrown.”

“Is it such a bad thing that you could?” Shouto asks quietly. He flashes a small, reassuring smile when Izuku looks up and continues, “Power isn’t a bad thing so long as you don’t abuse it. You take it and you learn to make the most of it, to make sure it’s something that will help you help others. You learn to control it, learn to make it listen to you. What you do with it is up to you because it’s _yours._ ”

“That sounds familiar,” Izuku jokes, the words half-hearted but enough to get a more genuine smile. 

“Considering they’re your words, I would hope so.”

Izuku sighs softly and leans forward until his head is resting on Shouto’s shoulder. He closes his eyes and makes himself focus on other things so he can calm down. Technically, Shouto is right. The power is scary, yes, but it’s still his. It’s not like Izuku became a different person, he just has to learn to manipulate the extra power so it will listen to him. He’s already done that sort of thing once before; it should be easier this time around since he has experience. 

He feels Shouto’s hand cradle his head, fingers tangling in his hair as he gently tugs Izuku closer until he’s practically in his lap. He probably should pull away, but Izuku can’t bring himself to, instead leaning into Shouto and enjoying his warmth. “You should rest. We can talk more about it later,” he says. 

Izuku is inclined to agree at the moment and just nods, deciding to allow himself a few moments of peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flower Guide:  
> Christmas roses- Anxiousness  
> Hyacinth (purple)- Sorrow  
> Lisianthus- Gratitude


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the final chapter! Thank you so much for reading, leaving kudos, bookmarking, and/or commenting. I really appreciate all the positive feedback!

The receptionist in the counselor’s office doesn’t look at all surprised to see Izuku when he walks in. Instead, he just gestures towards the couches and says, “Your mother should be finishing an appointment, so just have a seat.”

“Oh, uh, thanks.”

Izuku considers him for a moment before sitting down. The small succulent in his hands is feeling more lively than before, seeming even more eager to see Inko than he is. Considering the stronger influence she has over plants, this doesn’t surprise Izuku very much. 

The door to his mother’s office opens and a girl with long green hair comes out. When Izuku looks closer, he realizes the pointy parts of her hair are actually thorns. She smiles politely at him as she passes, seemingly unaware of the way a vine starts to reach out towards him. Oddly, he doesn’t feel as connected to it as he does other plants. When he thinks about it, that makes some sense considering the vines are actually part of her hair. He wonders if he’d be able to control them like he could normal vines, though, and if that would make them a good team or cause more conflict than anything else. 

He doesn’t get to think about it much more since Inko steps out of her office then. “Oh, Izuku, come in, honey,” she says, smiling warmly. 

She follows him into the room, shutting the door behind her and watching as he places the succulent on a small bookshelf. “The succulents tend to like you better, so I brought one for your office,” he explains, sitting on the couch as he speaks.

Inko hums softly, the succulent perking up and seeming to turn greener when she gives it some attention. “Thank you. How are you feeling? I hope your two days with Recovery Girl left you well-rested.”

Physically, sure, he’s plenty rested. Emotionally, though, Izuku isn’t so certain. He hasn’t really gotten the chance to talk to Shouto, yet. He knows they should but he still feels that anxious churning in his stomach when he thinks about it. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“When you first met Dad, did you worry about him getting hurt because of you?”

His mother pauses, her expression slipping into something less professional as she seems to realize this talk would do better with a mother than it would a counselor. “I did worry about that, yes. Even though your father was mortal, being around me meant that monsters would be attracted to him anyway.”

Izuku nods in understanding. At least he knows his mother will be able to empathize with how he’s feeling. “What did you do? The only thing I can think of is staying away from Shouto but he doesn’t agree with that. I can’t do nothing, though. He was already hurt because of me once. I don’t want it to happen again.”

He can feel himself starting to get worked up and takes a deep breath. It’s easier to calm down with Inko there to help, her aura gently soothing his nerves. She has a reassuring smile and moves to sit next to Izuku on the couch, putting an arm around him and encouraging him to lean his head on her shoulder.

“Your father and I talked about this for a while, actually. We spent almost a week discussing whether or not it was safe or even worth the risk for your father to be around me.”

“But you worked it out, obviously. How?”

“Well, Hisashi and I didn’t have the same issue you and Shouto do. Protecting him was easy because I’m powerful enough to do so. The problem for us was more that he’d be in danger even when I wasn’t around, not to mention that his quirk wasn’t strong enough on its own to stand against monsters.”

Izuku frowns slightly, thinking of the hydra and how oddly familiar it felt to see Shouto using his fire. Hisashi did the same with the manticore, keeping it distracted by breathing fire. How close was he to losing Shouto in a way so similar to how he lost his father? Though, it’s easy to see that Shouto’s quirk is undeniably stronger. But does that really matter when it comes to facing off against a monster?

He takes another deep breath and tilts his head back to look up at Inko. “But you still came to an understanding,” he says. 

“We did,” Inko replies, closing her eyes as she thinks. “Our agreement turned out to be that I would take a step back from my godly duties since they weren’t really necessary anymore in the first place. In return, he would try to strengthen his quirk and would call on me if the situation ever got out of hand.”

“Did you want to give up your godly duties like that?”

“It might be better to say that I didn’t mind giving them up to be with Hisashi.”

“It’s different for me, though.”

Inko doesn’t respond right away, instead gently carding her fingers through his hair. He’s not at all surprised to see her pulling out a few  hyacinths , placing the purple flowers in her lap. “The circumstances are different, yes. But I imagine the emotions are rather similar.”

Does that really matter? Things were easier for his parents. Inko was powerful enough to keep Hisashi safe. There’s no guarantee that Izuku is the same. “I’m not strong enough for that,” he finally says. 

“Who said you had to be strong all on your own? From what I understand, Shouto held his own against the hydra. You’re strong together.”

“He’s mortal. There’s only so much he can do against a monster before it’s no longer enough.”

Inko sighs softly and, for a moment, Izuku feels bad for being argumentative. She’s just trying to help, after all. He opens his mouth to apologize but is cut off by his mother saying, “It sounds like you’re looking for excuses to push him away. I know you’re worried, honey, but all of your concerns are things that can be addressed. Your power grew during the attack, which means you’re stronger now. If you train the way I know you can, then you’ll be strong enough to protect Shouto. I think you should also remember that you’re both training to be heroes. He’ll be in danger either way. Why not at least be together, support each other, and find solace in one another? Do you really want to give up before you’ve even begun?”

Izuku blinks, staring at the wall as he processes her words. He hadn’t really considered any of that, especially not the part about him being stronger now. Sure, his powers definitely got a boost from the fight against the hydra, but he hadn’t really made the connection yet that he could use those powers for hero work rather than just learn how to keep them under control. 

If he’s being honest with himself, all of his worries stem from the fact that he’s scared to cause Shouto pain just by being around him. But the idea of actually cutting him off, of telling Shouto definitively that they shouldn’t be near each other more than necessary, is even more painful than before now that he’s actually paying attention to it. Maybe he should have put more stock in his gut feelings from the beginning. They’re one of the best tools a demigod has to stay alive, after all. 

“I suppose the question you really need to ask yourself, Izuku, is whether or not you actually want to stop seeing Shouto. Are you willing to let go of the future waiting for you just because you’re scared of what life may bring?” Inko asks. 

“Well, you have to admit that life tends to throw more dangerous things my way than others,” Izuku jokes, pulling away to smile at his mother. 

She shakes her head fondly and places her hand on Izuku’s cheek, gently rubbing it with her thumb. “Yes, yes, it does, but I know you’re plenty strong enough to handle it. Now, since it seems like you’ve figured out what you want to do, why don’t you go find Shouto and let me get back to the rest of my day,” she says.

He stands up and raises an eyebrow at her. “Are you meeting any more students?” he asks curiously, allowing her to lead him towards the door. 

“No, but Present Mic and I currently have a game of poker going and I intend to win his lunch desserts for the next month.” Izuku laughs as she gently pushes him into the hall, getting an amused smile of her own. 

“I’ll see you later, honey. Good luck.”

* * *

He finds Shouto sitting outside the library, getting a bright smile at the sight of him reading, strands of his hair escaping his braid and falling into his face. “Are you waiting for someone?” Izuku asks, leaning against the wall next to him. 

“No, it’s just quieter out here than in the library,” he explains, placing a bookmark on the page he’s reading before closing the book and looking up at him. “Ashido and Uraraka are currently trying to help Kaminari finish an essay at the last minute and are loud.”

Izuku hums softly at that, glancing at the library doors and just able to see through the window to where Ashido is leaning over Kaminari’s shoulder at a computer while Uraraka has several books floating around them. It’s clear that all three of them are talking rather loudly, possibly trying to speak over each other in order to be heard at all. 

“Well, do you happen to have a minute?” he asks. Shouto pauses before nodding and gesturing for Izuku to sit next to him. He slides down the wall until he hits the ground, stretching his legs out in front of him. “I was thinking some more about everything.”

“You mean about the perceived risks of my being around you?” Shouto asks. 

“Yeah. Those.” He waits for Shouto to say something only for him to remain silent. Well, that’s okay. Maybe he’s expecting another attempt to convince Shouto they’re better off apart. “I’m sorry for trying to push you away. I was scared, which I guess you know already.”

“Are you still scared?” Shouto asks. 

Izuku has to think about it for a moment. He’s not really sure if scared is the right word anymore. It’s too strong. “No. I think I’m worried, instead. But that’s easier to deal with.”

He takes a deep breath and tries to order his thoughts so he can speak them coherently. Shouto moves closer, pressing their arms together. The warmth of his left side makes Izuku smile a little and he leans his head back against the wall. “Take your time, it’s okay,” Shouto tells him. 

A few more seconds pass as Izuku figures out what’s most important to say first. “I don’t want us to stop seeing each other. Our date was a lot of fun and I want to know more about you. I want to spend more time with you and get to see the different sides of you. I’m worried about your safety, though. You’re stronger than most mortals, which means you can hold your own better than they can. It’s just….I’ve seen first hand what can happen when a monster gains the upper hand in a fight against a mortal. They don’t hesitate. I want to be strong enough that, when it comes to monsters, what happened with the hydra won’t happen again,” he explains. 

“We can be strong together,” Shouto says.

Izuku looks up at him and smiles softly before resting his head on Shouto’s shoulder. “We can train together, become like a dynamic duo if we learn how to fight in tandem,” he jokes. 

“Isn’t that what Batman and Robin were called in those old comics?”

“Maybe.”

He hears Shouto laugh quietly, his shoulder shaking a little. “Which one of us is wearing the skin-tight shorts?” he asks. 

“We can figure that out when the time comes. Though, considering my costume apparently needs an upgrade, it might be me.”

That only serves to make Shouto laugh a little harder, Izuku pulling away slightly to see him smiling and trying to cover it up with his hand. It doesn’t work as well as he might hope, considering he can still see the way Shouto’s face is turning red. Warmth fills him at the sight, making him wonder how he could have ever seriously entertained the notion of not being close to Shouto.

When he finally gets his laughter under control, Shouto looks at Izuku, his gaze lingering on his hair. “I haven’t seen those flowers before,” he says.

Izuku blinks and reaches out, pulling out a  forget-me-not and staring at the blue petals. He gets a slight smile and offers it to Shouto. “Do you know what they are?” he asks. 

“Forget-me-nots?”

“Yeah.” He hums softly, glancing at Shouto’s hair for a moment. “Can I braid them into your hair?” he suddenly asks. 

Shouto hesitates, looking at Izuku as though to make sure he’s being serious. “If you want to,” he replies. He returns the flower and turns so his back is to Izuku. He starts to undo the braid, carefully running his fingers through his hair. 

While he waits, Izuku plucks the rest of the flowers from his hair, making a small pile of them in his lap. “I used to do this a lot back at camp,” he says, looking up to see Shouto holding a hair tie out to him. 

“Is that so?”

“Sometimes the other campers would try to make me feel a specific emotion so they could get their favorite flowers. Though, if they were too big for braiding, I would make them into flower crowns instead,” he explains, moving closer and parting Shouto’s hair.

“I’ve noticed that your flowers don’t wilt as quickly as normal ones do.”

Izuku hums softly as he starts to braid. “No, they don’t. If I’m around to continue refreshing them, then they won’t ever wilt. If I don’t press them, then usually I plant them. My cabin at camp had a lot of flowers around it.” He picks up one of the forget-me-nots, tucking it into Shouto’s hair and encouraging the stem to loop around a few strands of hair to stay secure. 

“What would they do to get flowers?” Shouto asks. 

“Well, if they wanted sunflowers they just had to make me happy. Sometimes that would mean just giving me a new journal or something hero-related. One boy really liked sweet peas, so he’d give me useful things that are hard to come by at the camp, stuff like batteries or pencil led. There was one time I helped fight off a blemmyae, that’s a monster that doesn’t have a head so its face is on its stomach, and a girl I was with pulled me aside halfway through because edelweiss had grown in my hair and she wanted it for her cabin.”

“It sounds like it was very easy to make flowers grow.”

“I’m an emotional person, so it is. I can control it if I really want, but I like having flowers in my hair and it would take up too much of my concentration to keep in check all the time.”

He finishes the braid then, securing it with the hair tie and smiling at his work. The blue flowers stand out nicely against Shouto’s red and white hair. “Okay, all done.”

Shouto turns back towards him with a soft smile, reaching up a hand as though to touch the braid before stopping himself. “I’m sure it looks good,” he says.

Usually, Izuku isn’t one to brag, but the braid  _ does _ look good. Getting to see the flowers in Shouto’s hair makes him smile. He leans closer to Shouto, a hand on the floor between them to keep himself steady. “I’m glad you like it,” he replies. 

“You don’t need to be this close, you know.”

“Yes, I do.”

Shouto gets a tiny smile at his response, clearly catching on. “What for?”

Izuku can’t help a grin, one that he does his best to control before leaning in and pressing a kiss to Shouto’s lips. He pulls away after a few seconds, leaning back to see Shouto smiling wider than before. 

“I think, after getting thrown into a tree, the least you could do is kiss me for longer than that,” he says. Well, he has a point. Izuku laughs as he moves closer to Shouto again.

Later on, he’ll have to do his best to convince Katsuki to postpone their fight until he’s learned to control his extra power, all while dealing with the entirety of the class finding out about them becoming an official couple because Ashido catches them kissing when she leaves the library. It’ll be chaotic and a little overwhelming.

But that’s in the future, something Izuku can’t think about right now. He’s too caught up in focusing on the present, where everything is peaceful and he can feel Shouto’s smile pressing against his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flower Guide:  
> Forget-Me-Nots- True love  
> Hyacinths (purple)- Regret or Sorrow


End file.
